Dark Angel
by babyvfan
Summary: Everyone knows Flora is the sweetest and senstive girl out of the Winx Club, so sweet and tender it hard for anyone to dislike her. But if they soon find out about Flora being a reincarnation of a dark witch &dark prochey, involing her being a sacrifice?
1. Chapter 1

_872 years earlier_

There wasn't a speck of light anywhere throughout the tunnel. No light, no hope, only dark coldness and blackness that swallowed everything up. Her eyes were wide open and she usually had a good night vision, which was closely as good to a vision of an owl, but it was too dark for her to even see her path. She felt as if she was blind.

Her heart was pounding loudly her chest, beating so loudly it amazed her that the heartbeats weren't echoing throughout the shadows. She gulped in shaky, heavy deep breaths as she wrapped her cloak more tightly around her body. The temperature was below zero, and her body heat was getting lower and colder each second. Anyone would have been tempted to turn around and ran away, running back to civilization where there was warmth and light. But she was sticking with her motive: to come into Shadow Hunt and collect what she was seeking for. And she refused to leave until it was finally in her grasp.

Determined, the young woman gulped in a large amount of air, breathing in deeply, as her feet moved forward and forward, further and further away from her last chance of escape and freedom but was getting closer to her treasure. It was now too late for her to change her mind, but she was too determined to give up now after all this time and keep on walking and walking until she would finally reach it.

The soles of her flat shoes were getting louder and louder with every step she took, loud as an elephant's stomp echoing throughout the entire eerie silent, dark tunnel. Sounds of various whispers, murmurs, and groans seemed to be coming from the wide walls, sounding like a mixture between beasts and people, all saying the same thing to her and was heard quite loudly in her ear, as if they were right next to her and whispering it right to her ear.

_Turn back._

Finally she stopped and stood motionless for a second. Her vision was getting blacker and blacker, being a traitor to her as they were failing to see through the darkness. She then cursed herself loudly in her head for being stupid and not being a flashlight, torch, or a candle along with her for the journey. She wished she asked her sun-powered sorceress friend to accompany her, since her bright powers would be a life-savor for her. But unfortunately, she was on her own and was waiting valuable time standing around. She let out a frustrated breath before closing her eyes and cleared her head of all thoughts. Clearing her mind from memories or thoughts, and concreted hard on her goal of finding what she was seeking. She cupped her hands firmly together as if she was holding an priceless item in her palms, her lips in a straight firm line being pressed together, and recited an enchantment in foreign language.

She unclasped her hands and watched in slight amazement as an orb of energy in a light shade of green rose from her palms and was hovering over her head, shedding some light on the dark. It was dimmed, though, and nearly wasn't as perfect and bright like her friend's, but there was enough light in it to brighten the black tunnel; just a bit to help her see her path. She saw it was still straight ahead.

The energy orb followed her like a shadow, flying silently over her head like a ghost. Even with the glimmer of light by her side, she was still unsatisfied and getting more frustrated. There was absolutely nothing in the tunnel she could really see, but dark and cold blackness. The space was unlimited and so wide, she doubted there were even walls in the place.

Then as she took another step while she was given half a mind to turn right back as an act of frustrated defeat, the young woman stopped dead in her tracks. Bright white energy, with colors of gray and black and red swirling and mingling with the white color, was coming from her left corner. She quickly ran toward the bright light, immediately sucking in her breath and staring at the sight she came upon.

In front of her was a shrine, one which wasn't too big yet not too small. Decorated with hundreds of mini candles in dark red colors surrounding it, and flowers-mostly roses-in various types and dark colors covering every inch, the shrine almost looked like it was holy. Behind the candles and flowers, was a rather small wall that seemed more like a tombstone, with a crescent of a beautiful midnight raven spreading out her wings, as if she was about to take flight, and had an unusual crimson-blood red eyes and a mark on its' forehead: a sinister-looking capital S in loopy, cursive writing. In front of the tombstone was a little wooden pelt, which reached only to her knees, that contained a book.

The young girl slowly kneaded down in front of the shrine, speechless and out of breath. She hesitantly reached out to touch the book, lightly brushing her fingers against it. It felt extremely cool to her touch, cold as ice. The book, she was told, was as ancient as time itself. The book's jacket was cracked black leather, now more gray than black. There was no title, just streaks of dark blooded-red at its corners while the crescent of the red-eyed raven bird was on the center with its wings spreading and opening its' beak wide like it was about to speak. The book seemed to be attracted to her hands holding it, for it was now suddenly warm in her hands. As if it was alive, breathing. It seemed so fragile after being in these shadows for more than a thousand years, so fragile with age that one must handled with care and caution like caring for a newborn infant. And was the most powerful ancient power of the entire magical realm; no hero or sorceress or witch has lived long enough to dream about having magic one as powerful as this.

According to legend, it was said most of the many who tried to touch the book would parish, and only a very slim amount of few would survive if the power found them interesting.

She waited for a few moments to see if anything was going to happen. If the demons would start appear from shadows, ready to attack her, if the floor would begin to shake and swallow her up, burying her underground, or if the book itself would strike at her. She waited to feel the pain, for the ground to start shaking, or hear sounds of the monster's groans as they would sneak behind her. But nothing happened; nothing came out and there was no pain she felt. Instead, the only thing she felt was a strong surge of accomplished triumph and bitter yet sweet taste of victorious victory powering within her.

"It seems to like you," The girl didn't bother to turn around. She knew that edgy yet charming voice, rich and smooth like soft velvet, anywhere, and could feel his presence sneaking behind her and standing a few inches away. "Which means it finds you worthy to possess its' power, and see the same quality I see in you: great potential and ravishing beauty to go with it."

She chose to ignore him, not in the mood for his flirting games and had other things to focus on. Like finding the spell that would be the key to her desire. Delicately, she placed the book back on the pelt with the same caution as caring for an infant, and the book suddenly opened by itself. The girl quickly stepped back and watched in amazement and slight fear as the pages, that were fragile-looking and darkened yellow in age, began turning itself and flipping through many sections and pages, as if it knew what she wanted and was searching for the perfect spell. Finally it reached a certain page and stopped. The bright yet dark swirling colors still danced around the book, but the book sat motionless on its' pelt.

She took a deep breath and knelled down again near the pelt. She narrowed her eyes and used her hand as a shield of protection against the brightness, and leaned forward to the book. The writing on the page seemed be to the same as the sinister-looking 'S' engraved on the raven's crescent, and was in a mix of Spanish and Latin, languages she was required to study hard in school and taught by her mother when she was much younger. She looked over the writing and mouthed some of the words to herself. According to the language, the writing was both a powerful spell and curse infused with intense power.

Her jade eyes brightened with thrilled excitement. This was it, the key to her long desire which was now so close she could even taste its' sweetness.

"You must remember the power is as ancient as time itself, and is even more powerful than the mighty Dragon Fire. But it is also bathed with dark, black magic. And you should know that you must fulfill consequences and requirements in order to control the power and claim it as your own. You must give it back something in return, like a trade. But I will ask you one more time and you must take time to think hard about this before you answer. Are you sure you really want to do this?"

A low hiss escaped her lips while a growl rumbled in her throat, as she slowly turned her head away from the beautiful book and to the attractive young man standing behind her with specks of dark amusement gleaming in his coal-black eyes, that matched the tunnel's color and were narrowed into slits. She locked her eyes with his, and the two shared dark, chilled yet challenging glares, daring for the other to break the gaze first. After staring into her hard eyes for awhile, he finally shut his eyes. He looked at her and saw a look of fierce determination, and watched a smile of cold smugness turned up the corners of her lips. "I have came all this way to get it. I, frankly, refuse to leave without it when it standing right in front of me," She turned to her front, looking down at the brighten book with her twisted smile still on her lips. "Regardless of any price I must pay, I will do it with no questions asked. With this power, I shall become the most powerful, invincible witch to ever live."

And with that being said, she studied the spell, muttering it quietly to herself, and then recited it out:

"_La sangre de mi cuerpo, la sangre de _

_mi mente, y del espíritu de mi alma Y _

_todo divino utilizo el cuervo  
oscuro para tomar tu alma como su _

_propio Para el cambio de la Sangre _

_poderosa del poder del corazón, de mis  
mareas, y de mi Sangre de luna del corazón, de mi salvación, y del destino_."

As the last word slipped off her tongue, the ground suddenly began to shake beneath them, and the book's glowing bright seemed to have darkened into a swirls and mixtures of red and black and gray. The swirls of dark colors spread around the book and covered every inch before it finally reached her fingers tips, which were pressed tightly against the pages.

She pressed her lips tightly together in order to mute the loud yelp built inside her throat she was half-tempted to let out as she felt a surge of powerful energy entering her body. Energy that was so cold and dark, it gave her tremendous thrilled fear and adrenaline. She felt as if she was stuck by powerful lightening, as the dark magic sunk deep beneath her skin and pulsed through her veins. The pain burned through her body like fire, and her body seemed weightless as it was being lifted high off the ground. Throwing her head back and spreading out her arms and legs, she let out a powerful shrieking scream that echoed throughout the entire place as the dark magic was becoming one with her, one with her soul, mind, and body. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Present Time**

Her bed was shaking beneath her, fingers tickling her everywhere from her toes to her stomach, and a pillow was being used to softly thump her on the side of her head and was messing up her already bed-messed hair. All these attempts were being done by one of her five best friends/roommate, Bloom.

"Flora, come on. It's Saturday, and you've been sleeping all morning." cheerfully cried the red-headed girl. She was jumping on Floras bed like a little kid, using her fluffy pillow to lightly smack against her head as her feet made contact with the mattress and she would lean over to hit her. "I'll keep this up all day if I have to."

Admitting defend, Flora let out a playful groan as she rolled onto her back and opened her eyes, looking up at her friend, who was still bouncing on her bed. She yawned tiredly and stretched out her body, getting herself out of bed and walked over to their large double-sided windows. The minute she felt the sun's bright, warm glows dancing around her skin, the cool breeze at ease while it was playing with her hair, and breathed in the sweetness of the beautiful flowers and plants surrounding Alfea's boarding school's campus, she felt surges of bright energy pouring into her and found all the strength she needed to get through the day. It was an absolutely beautiful day; she could tell, seeing the golden sun take its' rightful place in the clear blue, cloudless sky.

Flora headed to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. In the glass reflection was a beautiful girl with flawless, tanned skin, long, dark golden-brown hair cascading down her back in a mess of tumbled unruliness and her brown/blondish bangs parting by the sides of her heart-shape face, was dressed in a rose pink camisole and matching carpris pants with one strap slipping off her shoulder and the carpris were sagging a bit around her butt, and had a kind smile on her face and her emerald-jewel eyes were smiling back at her.

She brushed her teeth and took a quick shower, also giving her hair its' weekly Saturday wash with her favorite vanilla and lilac shampoo, and then went back to her room and looked through her closet to find something to wear. An outfit that wasn't too flashy or '_risky_' but also cute and fashionable for a casual morning outing. Finally, she settled with a jade-colored polo tee that made her eyes look bigger and greener, green plaid pleated mini skirt, and matching green wedge flip-flops that gave her extra height. She left her light brown hair down, and kept her accessories simple by wearing her favorite, huge golden-hoop earrings and beaded bracelets wore on both wrists.

She left her room and went to the living room, where she expected to see all her friends there but only saw Bloom lounging lazily on the couch, playing with strands of her hair while looking up the ceiling. Flora saw her friend was ready for the day with her fiery-red hair, which contrasted with her pale complexion, let down and hanging by her waist, and was dressed in baby blue scoop-neck tee, bleached jean destroyed jeans, and a pair of cork wedge sandals.

"Finally!" She cried, as she hopped off the couch and went over to give her friend a proper good morning hug. "It took you long enough. Stella and the girls are waiting for us at the cafe in downtown Magix. And unless, you wanna deal with Stella's impatient wrath, then I suggest we get moving."

With that being said, Bloom playfully and gently shoved her friend out the door before locking and shutting it behind them. The friends linked arms with each other and left the Alfea School, making it to the train station just in time as a train rolled in with people filing out and inside. They were able to claim seats before another group of people could reach it. While they were seated on the train, Bloom was telling Flora all about her sweet and romantic date with her steady, boyfriend, Prince Sky. She told the nature fairy all about how Sky picked her up from the park in his levabike, with flowers and chocolate in his hands, and Flora nodded her head giddily, urging Bloom to go on and give her more details.

"So what's up with you, Flora? Normally, you're the first one to always wake up early in the morning, so it was surprising that I had actually had to get you out of bed before noon. So, what gives?" Bloom asked, her eyes twinkling in amusement as a light shade of red was coloring Flora's cheeks. It was pretty obvious to her that Helia, the recently new artistic guy who immediately captured Flora's heart, had something to do with it.

Flora kept her lips sealed tightly together as she turned her head to the window, and watched all the buildings their train quickly passed and had the sights flashing in quick blurs. She knew it was unfair not to share with Bloom about the all-nighter-till-sunrise video-phone she had with Helia last night.

The thought of his name was so sweet to say, making her want to repeat his name over and over again, and thoughts about him never failed to make her heart suddenly race and her cheeks to blush. Thinking about his cute/handsome beauty, his dark midnight blue hair he usually wore in a loose, side ponytail that rested on his left shoulder, his sometimes shy and mysterious personality sweetened with kind tenderness, and how passionate he was about is art, which he was amazingly good at, and about nature, the remarkable thing they shared as an interest and was an important matter to the both of them. She remembered how last night while the others were fast asleep and she was taking care of her plants, her phone was beeping, indicating she was getting a message. She went over to click on the button, and then Helia's face appeared on full screen on a hologram view. He smiled and chuckled at her slightly surprised face and her cheeks that were starting to blush. He admitted he was working on some drawings and wanted to talk to her. It amazed the two of the time how they started chatting at 11:30 PM, distracted by practically everything else, and by the time they looked over at the time, they saw it was already four in the morning.

She almost forgotten that before they signed off, Helia said he wanted to meet her at their special place tomorrow, and she was grateful to Bloom for waking her up. Though he had great patience, she didn't want him to be waiting for her, and she was proud by the outfit she chose to wear today. She wanted to look just right when she meets up with him.

Downtown Magix definitely had the Saturday morning rush. The streets were buzzing with tourists and locals dressed in spring clothes with short shorts and t-shirts and strapless tops for the warm day, laughing, stopping randomly to take pictures, not having any care in the world. Various couples were walking by the streets, holding hands, gazing into each other's eyes, and stole a few quick pecks on the lips here and there. Hot dogs carts were aligned all along the streets, the sweet and tasty smell inviting more than one person to come around for a taste. Cafes filled with morning rush people, drinking their coffee and eating the food on their plates, and the boutiques and stores offering huge sale discounts were packed with vicious shoppers, fighting one another for a shirt certain shirt, dress, or a pair of to-die-for shoes.

Bloom and Flora made their way through the crowded streets and went to their favorite cafe, Rose Bud. Flora discovered the cafe one Saturday morning, much like this one, when they tagged along with Stella for her search of the perfect dress for the Valentine's Day dance. She thought the place looked adorable with its' mini garden at the both sides in the front, had umbrella-shaded tables on the outsides and dozens of others on the inside. Fond of it's quietness and privacy, she was able to convince the girls to give it chance and they immediately fell in love with it. They've been coming here ever since to stop for a quick bite whenever they headed to Magix. Rose Bud was a very quiet cafe with delicious pastries and treats, which was so tasty it could melt the grumpy and coldest of hearts, had friendly workers who were always nice and patient with the customers, and had awesome music playing in the background. There was also a small stage completed with microphone and instruments for local bands and performers to perform for the cafe's open-mic showcase night.

Hearing the front door's bell dinging as they opened the door and went inside, they apparently saw they weren't the only ones wanting to have Breakfast at Rose Bud.

The whole place was _jam-packed!_ People gently or rudely pushing the girls out of their ways as they were coming and going in a hurry, endless long lines forming around the cashier registers, and practically every table was taken, including the ones outside. Bloom scanned around the cafe until she finally spotted four familiar faces huddled at a table by the right corner, grabbed Flora's hand, and led her through the crowded people toward their friends.

Stella, looking fabulous and picture-perfect as always, wore her flowing, golden long hair down, and was dressed in a pale yellow crochet halter top, midnight-rinse short-short destroyed denim shorts, and matching yellow cork wedge, strappy sandals that were lace up all the way up to her knees. Her left arm was propped up onto the table, and she rested her chin on her balled-up hand. She had a dreamy expression on her face as she told Musa all about the date romantic date she had with her darling Brandon. Musa would sometimes shake her head or sign with a smile, sometimes putting in her own comments and was laughing along with the blonde as she would go on about her date. Musa looked cute, too, with her long, midnight blue-black straight hair hanging by her waist and was styled in a casual pull-back hairstyle, dressed in a black cotton tank top with a huge dark blue rose by the right corner, slim boot-cut dark jeans, and black wedge flip-flops. Layla and Tecna huddled close to each other, laughing at a few funny pictures of the gang taken on their vacations and adventures on Tecna's phone. Tecna, always keeping her fashion choices simple, wore a purple plaid ruffled 3/4 sleeved top and black leggings that were tucked inside her lavender ugg boots while Layla was in a black and white plaid sleeveless top, tight black jeans, black high-top sneakers and had her curly, dark hair kept in a high ponytail with a black beret covering her head.

When Stella spotted Bloom and Flora coming over to them, she immediately broke off her chat with Musa and grew silent. Her back was arched against the wooden chair, arms folded against her chest, and glared sternly at the girls as they took their seats. "Oh look girls. Look who finally decided to show up after all, the lovely Bloom with our very own Sleeping Beauty."

"Chill out, Stel." commented Musa, who lightly elbowed the blonde and rolled her eyes. Flora was sitting next to her, and Musa reached out to her, wrapping both arms around her shoulders and gave her a tight squeeze. She turned to Stella, and added "Besides chatting with your boyfriend all night on the phone till sunrise can be extremely tiring on a girl."

Flora gasped, wondering how the heck Musa knew what she's been doing. And the others, including Musa herself, burst into laughter. While they were all laughing, Flora sat silently in her seat, glaring down at the floor while heat creep upon her cheeks and colored them red once more. Musa saw the confusing and also brief hurt in her eyes, and pulled Flora in for another hug, giving her a smile that said she didn't mean any harm and was only playing around. Flora quickly smiled back at her, her embarrassment soon forgotten, and she rested her head on Musa's soft blue hair. The wonderful thing about their friendship was no matter what, they couldn't stay mad at one another for too long. They were best friends, practically sisters. Playful teasing was, of course after all, the natural activity the friends do among each other.

"You guys are ridiculous." Flora said, soon laughing along with her friends.

"But you still love us, anyway, Flora." Stella answered, lightly pinching her cheek as if she was a little girl.

But since they had to wait for Flora to make her appearance before they had breakfast and were nearly starving to death, they decided to get back at Flora for making them wait so long by picking her to wait in the long lines and pay for the food. And to make it even more fun for them, they ordered a huge buffet, which will cost her extra: large plate of brownies, croissant and bagel breakfast sandwiches, dozens of the different flavored muffins the cafe had, and large orange juice and peppermint tea.

Flora took one look at the line, seeing how it was getting longer and longer and impossibly slow each second. She turned her head back to the smirking faces of her friends, let out a groan, and got off her seat and went over to the register that at lease had a lesser people in line. The shortest one she could find was register five, which had ten people waiting in line and was being managed by a young girl in her early twenties, who was making quick haste with their orders. The girl, though, looked like a real witch with scorned expression on her face, as if she hated everything and everyone in the cafe that made Flora wonder why she was even working here in the first place, had flame-red punk hair with ink-black on the tips and sharp spikes sticking out like a porcupine, and the multipliable tattoos on her bare arms and piercings on her face, which made her look even scarier.

The cashier rounded up her order in record time and passed it over to Flora, shooting her an extremely cool look. "Thank you, and please come again." she said, saying it tensely like she was reading it from a script and called for the next person in line.

Flora really didn't like rudeness or mean, but still she shrugged off the negative's girl attitude and put two dollars into her tip jar, which was filled with only seven pennies and a chewed-up navy button. Placing the large order on a tray, she was successfully able to make her way through the crowd and find their table. As she plopped down the food on the table and took a seat, the girls grabbed the food like hungry wolves and chow down. Stella looked over Flora's shoulder and watched the witch-girl cashier, with a frown on her as she witnessed the cashier quickly losing her patience with an elderly man holding up the line and checking their Specials' board. The girl then immediately snapped like a volcano and yelled loudly at the helpless man, calling him scum and was wasting her valuable time just staring around.

_This girl definitely needed to be taught a lesson_, Stella thought. As the girl turned her back away from the man and was piling sliced fruit and yogurt into a blender, preparing the cafe's specialty fruit blast smoothie, a huge idea came to her and she began to smirk. "Because you're so loud and rude, it's time to have some fun with food." She murmured, concreting hard on her target. She twirled her right index finger around and around, aiming it right at the blender the girl was working on, and watched as her magic was jumping off her finger and into the blender, causing the mixed fruit and yogurt to stir faster and faster inside the machine and start shaking crazy like it was doing over-time.

The spiked-hair girl noticed the shaking beneath her left hand, which was holding the blender's cover. She pressed the off button, thinking that would calm it down, and leaned over the blender and remove it's' cover. Instead of it looking still and smooth, blended smoothie was bubbling quickly over and over and was rising up to the surface. Closer to the girl's face. "What the fuck..."

_BOOM!!!!!!!!!_

The loud explosion of the blender caused the whole smoothie to splash all over register five, spilling all over the counter and ruining the register and streaks of globbish-pink running down the floor in streaks. Everyone froze for the moment; the whole place was so quiet you could hear the drop of a penny. They all turned their heads to register five to look at the spiked-hair cashier, whose back was still leaned over the blender that exploded in her face moments ago, and could feel the tensed volcanic anger building up inside of her, close to exploding if she moved a muscle in her tense body. She was covered head to toe in the blob pink smoothie, streaks of it in her hair and splashes of the stuff staining her wine-red employee polo and jeans.

Slowly, she turned around, facing her watchful audience who were waiting for her reaction. Her expression was unreadable, also covered with the blobbish smoothie, and she took a deep breath in before spitting out the remaining smoothie in her mouth.

Stella could barely contain herself. The spell worked on every more marvelous than she thought it would. The girl looked so messy and absolutely ridiculous; it was killing her not to laugh. So that's what she did; she threw her head back and laughed hard, laughing so hard tears were running down her cheeks and caused her mascara to run down her cheeks in black streaks. Her laughter was contagious and spread among her friends, having them join her in laughter in less than ten seconds. Soon their laughter was spreading fast among the customers, each one quickly laughing one by, until the entire place was erupted into uncontrollable laughter.

A blond-haired, nose-pierced employee went over to help the girl, grabbing some napkins from the dispenser and tired to wipe her smoothie-splashed face. The girl looked at him with an extreme deadly look in her eyes, which looked shiny all of the sudden. A hard hand made contact with his face, and he found himself lying in the ground and groaning in pain as he held his cheek, which was bright red and had her hand palm marked on it. The girl's hands were balled up into tight fists, her brown eyes narrowed into cold slits, and a mind-blowing, ear-piercing scream escaped her lips as she finally opened her mouth. The scream so loud, everyone's laughter was instantly cut off short and they all had to cover their ears with their hands in order to protect their ears from the painfully loud shriek.

The girl ripped her employee name tag off her chest and threw it at the guy's stomach, and stomped out to the door in a huff with her body trembling in anger. "_SCREW THIS FUCKING BULLSHIT!!!_ When Mr. Shit-asshole is done shitting in the bathroom, tell him I fucking quit!!"

Everyone was silent for a moment as they walked her out the door, slamming the door hard with extra power. The silence lasted for about a few seconds, but the people quickly got over her fit of rage and were laughing once again. Flora, however, stared at the girl standing outside the cafe and was making weak attempts to fix her messed-up face and hair. She couldn't be too sure since she was a bit too far away to tell, but could have swore she saw tears in the eyes of the tough-as-nails girl, who bit her bottom lip to prevent tears from falling. Even though Flora thought the girl was a tad rude and extremely cool to the customers, no one deserved having to be publicly humiliated. If it was her in that situation, she would already be in tears before a chuckle could even be heard.

"I feel bad for her." she admitted.

Her small confession was able to be heard through the girls' laughter, which became silent as they all stared at Flora, puzzled questioning written in their expressions. Stella arched her eyebrow up, slightly frowning at Flora, and asked "Why would you feel bad for her, Flora? She's horrible and deserved what she gotten."

"Yeah, but still, Stel, you could have done some other spell to get even with her. I think you went a bit too far." said Bloom.

Tecna shook her head, taking a quick sip of her orange juice and wiped her mouth with a napkin. "I actually have to agree with Stella on this one." She chose to ignore the slight surprise in Stella; Tecna actually agreeing with her was a very rare occasion. "She would have been fired by her boss any time sooner if she kept that grumpy attitude of hers up."

"She's crude and rude and deserved to get the boot." Layla said, folding her arms against her chest and kept a firm expression on her face. But then she giggled at the little poem she recited, and her expression softened.

They had good points there, that the girl was rude and mean. But still Flora couldn't help feeling sorry for her. She excused herself from the table, grabbed a few extra napkins and put them in her pockets, and went outside. She headed down the same direction she saw the girl go a few moments ago, walking straight down the street and taking a left around the corner.

There was the girl sitting alone at a bus stop bench, with no real intention to use the bus today. Her face was finally wiped clean of the smoothie, but there were still traces of the stuff caked around some areas and stains of it on her clothes and sticking in her hair. She looked absolutely miserable, miserable and all alone. Her arms were stiffly folded against her chest, and her silted eyes were staring at the ground filled with un-shed tears. When she lifted her head up as she heard footsteps approaching her and saw it was Flora, her tear-filled eyes turned ice-cold. "Look if you're here to say you feel sorry for me about what happened back there, do me a good favor and keep your shitty options to yourself."

Despite the rudeness cold shoulder, Flora remained standing firmly in front the girl and finally took a seat next to her on the bench.

When Flora looked at her, the girl decided she was very clueless. Her gaze turned more fierce than icy, a scowl imprinting on her, and she said through her gritted teeth "Look, I knew you might be seriously clueless, but even you can't be that idiotic. So I'm only going to say this once, and you better get this through your thick head. I don't need your _freaking_ sympathy, pity, or sorrow. I've been getting that all my life from all sorts of people, feeling sorry for me and wishing they could help, saying 'Oh, you poor little thing.' You know what that does to me? It droves me insane, making me feel like shit. So please, please just _go_!!!" She then cursed at herself as her voice was cracking at the last sentence and it wasn't too long before hot tears began pouring down her eyes, rolling down her cheeks. They were tears of embarrassment after the accident that just happened and tears of anger as she thought about all the people who felt sorry for her. She felt like the biggest idiot in the history right now, being humiliated in front an audience and now crying in front of a complete stranger. She never felt so pathetic.

Flora didn't plan to go away. The girl's attitude toward her was hard and definitely cold, but had her reasons for doing so. She was obviously still hurting from her accident and in pain, and Flora wanted to at least give her some comfort. She placed her right hand on the crying girl's back, whose back was stiffened by the contact, and gently rubbed her hand around her back. Her hand was moving in a pattern, going up and down and down and up. Slowly the girl lifted her head up, her black mascara caked around her face, and Flora gave her a small, comforting smile as she reached into her pockets and offered her the napkins. "Here, wipe your eyes." She said calmly.

She took a quick glance at Flora, a bit suspicious of her hospitably and the comforting smile on her face, and accepted the napkins. She used them to dry her eyes and cleaned up her face. "I take it you don't take orders too well, do you?" she murmured, wiping her tears away.

With her smile still in place, Flora shook her head and waited till the girl finally calmed down before speaking again. "Life can really be surprising most of time, with twists and surprises always hitting us at practically every corner. But you at lease making to keep your cool-for awhile at least-is the armor we use to survive life's surprises. And you shouldn't feel bad about crying, sweetie. It only means you're the same as everyone else with feelings we want others to see and most we don't want to show."

She let Flora's words sink in for a long portion of time. As Flora handed her another napkin, she accepted it this time with less suspicious hesitated and more gratitude, and wiped her eyes hard till they were dry. She sniffled and let out a breath she hasn't realizing she was holding in for awhile, surprisingly and slowly beginning to feel a bit better. "So…um…I-look-I-am really not good at stuff like this." She took a deep breath in through her nose, taking some time to collect herself. "Anyway, I'm sorry for being a bitch to you. Sometimes I just can't help it and I was having a really off day. I found out my boyfriend was cheating on me with my own slut of a sister, got dumped yesterday which was the night I was celebrating my birthday with my friends. And when the ass finally showed up, two hours late, instead of kissing me and wishing me a happy birthday, he just straight up told me the fire in our relationship was dying quickly and he was moving on with another girl, who might give him excitement. Then he just went over to my sister, who was acting all innocent, and laid a huge kiss on her lips right in front of everyone, including me. Nice birthday gift, huh?" She asked sarcastically, letting out a snorted laugh. "A girl wanting nothing but her boyfriend to give her a kiss and wish her a happy birthday, but instead gets dumped and finds out about his dirty affair with your sister." She looked at Flora, sighing heavily, with her arms now wrapped around her torso.

"Then the guy was dumb. Anyway guy who would cheat on his girlfriend and break up with her on her birthday isn't even worth the girl's time." She rubbed the girl's back once more time and let her hand fell to her lap. "Well, I'm Flora." She said, sticking out her hand and waiting for the girl to accept it.

She stared at the hand for a second or two before slowly reaching out and shaking it. She didn't know if it was because of the company joining her on the bench, the fact she somehow said words that weren't exactly not empathy but wasn't completely sympathy either. It, instead, made her feel a whole heck better since it mostly wasn't a like a self of pity act. Even when she told the girl to back off, she still said and refused to go. To her, it was pretty damn brave. "Name's Hannah."

They weren't exactly friends, but still it felt more like a acquiesce which was fine with both of them. Flora stayed with Hannah, and they talked for a few more minutes before Flora suddenly remembered about her friends, who were still waiting for at the café and would most likely finish all the food before she could even have a bite, and had to go. She waved goodbye to Hannah, wishing her good luck, and went back to the cafe.

The café was emptying a bit, a few less people crammed in and wasn't as full as before. And Flora was relived to see some food was still waiting for her at the table. They all burst into heartfelt laughter at a funny and expected comment Tecna said. But Stella's laughter was cut short as she watched Flora made her way over them and took a seat, checking for damages the witch might have done to her but was slightly surprised not to see anything. "Well, lookie here girls who's back?" Stella said, watching Flora only smiling as she ignored her comment and took a bite out of the vanilla-icing, pumpkin muffin, one of her favorites. "Tell us, Flora, how your meeting with the wicked witch go? Did she get water splashed on her and melted to the ground shrieking 'I'm melting! I'm melting! Oh, what a world! What a world!' "She shrieked, flinging her hands around like she was melting and did the perfect impression of a witch.

While the others giggled, finding it funny, Tecna rolled her eyes and shook her head at Stella's ridiculousness. "This isn't some child's movie, Stella. You know as well as I do that witches can't be melted by water. It's fictional and also proven illogical."

"Yeah, but still it would be cool though." Layla said, thinking about Icy, Darcy, and Stormy. If stuff like splashing water could really destroy witches, then the girls would have done that a long time ago and things would be much simpler.

Stella waved her hand at Tecna's comment as she rolled her eyes. Leave it to Tecna to turn something light and playful and turn it into something serious and strict with her technical ways. She turned around to Flora, moving on from the subject and asked "So Flora, your special day is coming up real soon. Isn't there anything special you want to do?"

The others smiled at Flora, who was sinking low into her seat with an embarrassed smile on her and her cheeks blushing a bit, and then at once all of the girls began talking about what they should do for her birthday. Flora was turning eighteen soon on March 13, which is less than a few weeks away and turning more into days. Flora loved her birthday, she honestly did, and she was glad to have such caring friends and family who wanted to help celebrate. The only thing though, while Flora just wanted to keep things plain and simple, her friends would take it to an extreme. She remembered on her 17th birthday, Stella and the others were able to convince her home planet, Linphea, to throw her a special birthday parade. Even though it wasn't what she had in mind, she loved it all the same. She was queen of the parade, dressed in a bright pink spaghetti-strapped, knee-length dress completed with a sash hanging off her left shoulder and a beautiful princess tiara encrusted with pink jewels. Her friends were by her sides, tossing out pink petals to the crowds while she waved on in her huge, glittery pink rose-shape float.

It was an amazing birthday she would never forget. But for this year, she could tell her friends were planning to do something big, and they were all comparing one another's ideas to come up with the perfect birthday solution. Musa and Layla said it would amazing to throw Flora a huge birthday bash, with hot music playing and a buffet of food; Tecna thought having a girls' night out would suit her better; Bloom was implying since Flora was a true nature person, they could all go to a vacation resort that had amazing forests and woods for them to explore; and while Stella was all for the vacation resort, she wasn't too keen on the whole outdoors thing. She suggested they go to the best resort and have a nonstop shopping marathon, spending all their money and their cards till they completely bought everything from each store.

With her smile still un-wiped on her face, Flora shook her head, amused. "I sometimes wish you girls wouldn't make such a big fuss over what to plan for my birthday. It's just my birthday, another simple day. Nothing special."

That seemed to do the trick of silencing them all. Despite the noise around the cafe, the silence at the table was considered dead quiet. Flora could feel all their eyes boring into her, and she finally looked up at them. Each one of the girls sat frozen in her seat, wearing a mask of mocked-shock with their mouths agape and eyes popping out wide, stunned. Stella did an excellence job making it look even more dramatic by placing her hand on her chest and taking shallow, deep breaths as if the shock was too much for her to even handle.

"_Just another day?_'_Nothing special_'" Stella exclaimed, playing the part of an overly-dramatic queen marvelously. "Flora, in this friendship, a birthday is something much more than just another, it's bigger and amazing." With each of her words being said, her voice growing louder and louder smitten with proud firmness as if she was giving the most important speech of her life to the kingdom, Solaria.

"Drama queen has a point, Flora," Layla said. Stella flipped her head the other direction and humped and humped loudly, shooting her a dark, frost that she ignored. "And it's your 18th birthday, the official end of childhood and the beginning of adulthood. We have to plan something amazing and awesome for your birthday, a birthday which you'll never forget."

"Yeah!" They all agreed in unison, nodding their heads energetically. Flora shook her head and rolled her eyes. They may be silly, but still they were her friends and she loved them all the same.

The crowds in the cafe was slowly reducing bit by bit, till they were about a few people left at their tables or standing in front of the register to order an on-the-go snack. While the Winx girls were talking about practically everything and laughing and playfully teasing one another, Flora checked the time and nearly choked on her muffin. It was almost two, which meant Helia must be waiting her for right now! She had to go. Now!

Flora quickly stood up to get ready to move, but before she could even take another step toward the door, Stella grabbed firmly her wrist and insisted she helped Flora before she went off to met her boyfriend. Stella reached inside her turquoise purse, pulling out a heavenly pink glossy lipstick she bought weeks ago but never bothered to use since she had over twenty shades similar to it. "Do this." She instructed, pursing her lips together. Flora did Stella's example, and Stella glanced critically at the pink shade and Flora's lightly tan skin color. She nodded her head in approval that the pink would be marvelous on her, and started dabbing it on Flora's lips.

The girls always teased Stella about her habits of constantly fixing her makeup and hair, taking too long to get ready, and whipping out her makeup bag to refresh her makeup and checking her reflection in her makeup mirror to make sure she always looked right. They may think she's obsessed with her looks, but that's one of the things her mother strongly implied to the young princess when she was still a young girl. Her mother, the beautiful queen of her home, Solaria, who always looked so fabulous and perfect, always told her that when a person first meets you, they immediately examine your outer appearance. Which was why one must always make sure to all good at all times, and should take their time with beauty instead of just rushing it.

"This shade is so incredi-fabulous on you! I'm surprised why I didn't let you have it earlier." Stella remarked, with a proud beam on her face. After finishing her lips, Stella gave Flora the lipstick for her to keep and whisked some natural-looking blush on her face, which went amazing with her tan skin tone, and ran a brush and comb through her hair. Flora had such amazing hair; it was long and pretty, and an amazing hair color mixture of dark blonde and light brown she thought was amazing.

"Honestly Stella. Flora has to go met Helia at their 'special place'" Bloom air-quoted, couldn't help smirking a bit as she watched Flora's cheeks reddened a bit.

Tecna couldn't resist rolling her eyes. If her technical ways were Stella's pet-peeve about her, then Stella's makeover ways were definitely her pet-peeve. Stella had a good point about outer appearance being the first noticeable thing about a person. But there was a limited measurement of how much she can take and handle it before going mad. "You're making Flora as late enough as it already is, wasting her time while you're propping her up like she was your fashion doll or something."

Stella didn't let her friend's rude tude get in the way of her makeover fun time. When she was finally finished with Flora's makeup, she stood up from her own seat and eyes the outfit chose her friend made: green polo, green plaid pleated mini skirt, and green wedge flip-flops. Very cute, very adorable but Stella knew she could do a few arrangements to make the cute outfit look even cuter. First she undone the buttons of her polo and spread it wide before pulling down the shirt's hem to give it a low cut look that showed the perfect amount of cleavage, making her look even more hot instead of cheap, and then rolled up the skirt and shortened the hem to show off more leg. She did all this while ignoring Flora's protests of her adjustments. She knew she would thank her the minute she sees the final results.

Finally all done, Stella took a step back and critically examined Flora from head to toe, peering closely at the finishing results. Probing deep, intensity was bright in her dark golden eyes, making her look like a biggest/most famous art critic studying a masterpiece before giving her final option. A smile soon broke across Stella's face, softening her stoned expression. She nodded her head in approval and turned around to present Flora's makeover to their friends, her hands gesturing Flora's freshen-up face and fashionable outfit. "Tada!" She grinned at her friends. "Ladies, I present to you my masterpiece." Turning back to Flora, the Solaria princess clapped her hands in delight, saying "You look fabulous, darling! Absolutely fabulous! Helia is going to eat his heart out the minute he spots you looking all cute and hot."

"Thanks Stella, but I really have to go!" Flora exclaimed, grabbing her belongings and putting two pumpkin muffins, which would snacks for her and Helia later, inside her purse.

"Tell us everything and don't skip out on a single detail. We want to hear everything the minute you come back." Bloom said.

Promising that she would tell them about every detail, Flora hugged each one of her friends and waved goodbye to them before quickly rushing out the door. She could see that even though the cafe was on a slow business now that morning was gone, outside the streets were still flooded with people. She had to move out of other peoples' ways in order for her to get through and sometimes had to shove others out her way, blocking out their annoyed expressions and comments murmured under their breath as she passed by them.

But as she was walking, Flora couldn't help feeling a bit strange. She had a feeling someone was following behind her. In fact, it was more than a feeling. It was an alarmingly reaction. When she paused for a moment, she immediately heard footsteps behind her that also stopped and could feel ice eyes boring into her back, raising the hairs on the back of her neck. But who would be following her though? She most certainly knew it wasn't her friends. Was it the Trix witches up to no good again? Did Hannah feel grumpy again and was trying to prank her? But each time she turned around, a pang of embarrassment would come over her when she saw no one was there and none of the people buzzing around the streets weren't even paying attention to her.

"Paranoid," She muttered to herself as she started walking again. "I'm just being paranoid." But the more she walked away, the louder she could hear footsteps following behind her. Someone was definitely behind her. Flora quickened her pace and practically ran to the bus station.

Flora caught the bus just in time. She sat alone in the back of the aisle and stared out the window with dazedness n her eyes. She decided to stop thinking about what just happened to her and to think about more important things. Like Helia as a great example. No doubt now, he was waiting at their forest while she was now over twenty minutes late. She was anxious about getting there but realized she shouldn't be nervous. Helia had great patience and was the sweetest boy she knew who wouldn't mind waiting a few extra minutes. She could picture him sitting on his favorite high rock, where he sat on to either draw or mediate, with his sketchbook opened to a fresh page and his pencil pressed against it while he was waiting for inspiration to strike him.

_Oh, I can't wait to see him! _She thought giddily.

Flora darted her eyes around the bus, eyeing the similar yet drastically different styles passengers were wearing from the middle-aged woman dressed in preppy clothes to the little boy seated in the front, who looked about the same age as her little sister, Rose, was dressed in all black with jet-black hair styled in a Mohawk. Some people were talking to one another or talking on their phones, some looking out the window with a bored expression on their face. As she took a glance to her right, she became frozen in her seat while her jade eyes widened.

Seated across from her seat was a young man who looked three to five years older than her. He was dressed in a white spotless, expensive-looking suit and a pair of fine leather, black formal shoes; the outfit altogether was much too formal to wear on a day like this. Though she wasn't really interested, she would be lying if she told someone he wasn't cute. Actually cute seemed to be a understatement; he was heart-stopping, unbelievable gorgeous with the beauty so beautiful it seemed almost unreal, his skin in a sickly pale color yet appeared smooth, his hair pale blond and curly, and a pair of the darkest, chillingly eyes Flora had ever seen in her entire life. The eye color so dark, it was onyx black and hard-looking as stone. As much as she wanted-_needed_-to look away from those eyes, their gaze was powerful and she was powerless to break their hold on her.

His arms were folded against his chest and his back was leaning against the seat, his stance clearly relaxed. A smile broke across his face, spreading wide and wide and revealed his pearl-white teeth as the man watched Flora trying to break the gaze. The smile seemed charming and pleasant to the appalling eye, but Flora could see sinister aura surround it that was so frighteningly, devilish dark and cold.

This man was clearly dark and evil, she could feel it. Sense it. Her body began shaking as she watched his dark evil widen even more, her eyes still helplessly trapped in his gaze. Despite the sinister aura surrounding the young man, there was something disturbingly familiar about the man as if she had seen him somewhere before. With a face like that and coal-stone eyes, Flora was sure she would remember meeting someone like that. But the more she thought back to even meeting him before, her mind became fuzzy and turned up blank. Her memory didn't seem to have any remembrance of the young man, although something in the back of her mind said she knew him from somewhere before.

As if he knew what was going through her mind, the man's smile became a dark ear-to-ear fearsome grin, so evil and bone-chilling. He seemed to be enjoying this, as if they were apart of his favorite game with him successfully and easily winning while she was unfortunately, miserably losing. He lifted his hand and waved pleasantly at her, like she was a long-time friend he hasn't seen in awhile, his black eyes twinkling with dark amusement.

The train finally reached its' distention and stopped at the next bus stop. Flora couldn't have been any more grateful for the bus stopping, finally able to break her eyes away from the man's unbreakable bond and turned her head as far away from him as possible. His dark eyes, however, were still watching her, his pleasant yet dark smile causing a chill in the pit of her stomach to spread throughout her entire body.

She quickly grabbed her purse and was the first one out of the train. Or rather, was the first person to run out. Flora received odd looks from strangers as she passed them. She supposed she looked odd, running in the train station like she was running away from danger, but she honestly couldn't care less about their options and needed to be as far away from that stranger as possible. But she was suddenly standing still and frozen in her tracks as she felt a hand creeping behind her and stroking her hair tenderly, as if it was a fine material. Then the hand crept higher up to her shoulder, caressing it and sending terrifying chills up her spine from the fingers' ice-cold touch.

Flora saw she had no other choice but to turn around; so she did, and instantly regretted it. Her eyes widening and her body becoming tense, as she found herself face-to-face with the strange man from the bus, the same one who she was trying and hoping she could avoid. His head of pale blonde hair was glistening from the sunlight, but his pale skin looked so transparent from the brightness. She could see he was a tall, thick man, around 6'4 to 6'6, whose entire frame seemed to cover her and block her view of anything else besides him.

Him being in front and so close, with those coal black eyes burning right through her like fire and that dark smile of his which raised the cold feeling of fear within her, made her feel unease. Flora tried to move away from him, but saw what little help it did for her. Each time she tried to move left, he was immediately in front of her, smiling. When she tried to move right, the stranger blocked her path before she could even lift a foot up to move. This was like a game of cat and mouse, him the cunning cat taunting around with the helpless mouse, which was unfortunately her, who had no chance of escaping, much less winning their game.

Flora folded her arms against her chest and put on an expressionless mask, trying to appear calm yet firm so he doesn't assume she's uncomfortable around him. She let out a breathe she hasn't realized she was holding in for a long time and calmly said "Hello."

The man's eyes gleamed as his smile widened even more, showing his bright, bleach-white teeth. "You seem tense," He noted, and right on cue did her body began to tense up. He smirked, finding her discomfort hilarious. "What's the matter? Is there a certain something bothering you?" His voice sounded deep and charming, featured with charmed smoothness that was rich like velvet.

_You mean besides from the fact some stranger is following me and doesn't want to leave me alone?_ Flora thought, half-tempted to say it out loud but took a quiet breath to relax herself and calm her nerves. But hearing him speak immediately caught her attention. That voice! She knew she heard somewhere before, either hearing it in real-life or in a dream. But either way, she was now sure she knew him from somewhere before. "I'm not tense." She insisted, grateful that despite her confusion and unsettling discomfort, her voice remained calm and firm. She frowned as she heard a laugh of disbelief muffled in his throat. "I'm on my way to meet someone right now. I'm already late, and really hate to keep him for him to be waiting any longer for me. So if you could please move, then I could be on my way."

"A him you said?" He asked, practically ignoring everything else she just said except about her meeting Helia, the only piece of information that seemed to spark interest in his eyes. "You have a boyfriend, yes?"

Flora narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she eyed him. She couldn't understand why he seemed so interested in her personal life, and wondered if she should even answer his question. He was a stranger, so it wasn't even his business really about whether she had a boyfriend or not, which she very much does she might add. Giving him a one-word answer, she responded with "Yes." She took note of the unsettling intensity burning inside the man's dazed eyes while he leaned forward and gazed at her deeply, almost to see if she was real. "Is something wrong?"

Hearing her soft voice speaking to him, he snapped out of his reverie and quickly blinked, taking the moment to clear his head before speaking again. "All is well," he smiled; the smile seemed different from the other smiles she had seen on his face before. It was still appealingly pleasant and charmingly polite, but the dark evil behind it was much stronger than before, hardened with an edge. "It's not everyday I met a ravishing beauty much like yourself."

To Flora's utter discomfort (and slight disgust), he took her hand in his as he got down on one knee and knelled down in front of her and lifted his head up to meet her eyes. It looked as if he was proposing to her. He rubbed her hand tenderly, ignoring the fact she was disgusted and shuddering, and pressed his cool lips against her hand in a long, lingering kiss. Feeling those cool lips on her hand made her skin itch like bugs were crawling all over her. But it wasn't his cool, thin lips that caused tension in her, though it did make her feel suddenly nausea and more than just uncomfortable, it was his touch. From the moment his skin made contact with her, Flora felt enormous shocks of energy so dark and cold it chilled her, crashing hard over her like enormous tidal waves and nearly drowned her in its' deep depths. The shock was impossibly cold, unbelievably colder than the black heart of the ice-witch, Icy, and unimaginably and unspeakably dark than any dark force in the whole magical realm.

The jolt from his touch sent powerful electric-fiery shocks into her hand and spread all over, actually pulsing through her veins and actually burning her hand. Burning her like hot fire.

She tried to pull away, tried opening her mouth to command this strange man to stop whatever it he's doing to do. But his grip was instantly tightened on her hand, squeezing it hard like he refused to have her leave and was really starting to hurt. When she tried to open her mouth, the words didn't seem to be coming out.

Something then started to happen.

The train station suddenly was spinning and spinning around and around, going extremely fast like a spinning tea cup ride at the carnival, with the people and faces were along for the ride, the noise silently muting. Flora tried pulling away once more, but her body suddenly became paralyzed and she was standing frozen like a statue, with her hand being squeezed by a sinister stranger, who was actually smirking.

Her vision was becoming darker and darker until it was completely consumed by blackness.

_The sky was no longer bright and beautiful, only blooded-red with streaks of black clouds slashed across it; the sun standing still overhead, its glorious light forever lost in eternal black. Fierce, scorning black and red flames roared and consume all in its' path, destroying everything in sight, erasing the screams of the remaining innocent who tried running for their lives but unfortunately ended up losing them instead._

Screams of the frightened and laughs of the wicked filled the air with sound. On the streets, statues of rebel fighters and traitors were molded on the ground, their expressions showing fear and pain that showed their struggle as they tried to fight off the ghouls dragging them underground to their doom. The disturbing centerpiece was a cruel reminder to anyone who dared question her authority or power, showing the dying consequences if they wish to challenge her and lose their life. Posted on top of the remaining ruins of collapsed, destroyed buildings were beautiful black birds, their eyes deep crimson and the shade of blood, and their beaks opened wide to sing their beautiful song before flying away.

Despite the chaos happening around, the young woman sat calmly in her black and red bejeweled throne, which was flowing high in the sky and gave her a perfect view of all the horrible destruction happening. It was all so horribly wrong yet she was smiling. Her face seemed to be covered by the dark shadows-all expect her magnificent ruby eyes, a bright and marvelous shade of red, and her dark smile so twisted, bathed with disturbing evil.

She was the queen of all hell and evil.

A loud gasp escaped her very lips as Flora snatched her hand back with all her might. Loud, shallow, deep breaths and panting were playing over and over in a repeated pattern, and she realized it was her making the sound. Her head spun wildly, caused by the sudden lightheaded motion, and one hand was placed over her chest to keep from her pounding heart from bursting out after experiencing the strange rush.

The station, the people. They all seem to be back to normal and in order. All of the people carefree and going on with their day, none realizing what in the world just had happened to her. How she was placed in that horrible nightmare, left gasping for air as she was pulled back into reality.

Flora eyed the strange man again, who was still knelling down before her with his head down and his hand still holding hers. He then lifted his head up, his expression utterly amused as if he knew what he had just done to her and was getting pleasure watching her squirm in fear.

She tried to ignore his smug look and cared for her hand, which was still burning from his touch. She then noticed something engraved on it. She peered at it closely, eyes widening as she looked at it. It was a bright red 'S', bright as the red colors she had seen from her dream, and was written in Gothic italicization and looked sinister-looking. But as soon she touched it, it instantly disappeared. Simply vanished as if it wasn't even there in the first place.

If her heart wasn't pounding hard before, then it was now certainty doing overtime. She quickly covered her wrist with her other hand and held it close to her chest, scowling at the smirking blond man, wishing he could stop with his sick games and just leave her alone.

"Is everything alright, my dear? You seem pale and...Scared?" he sneers the word delighted, pleased to see the fear in her eyes.

Instead of answering him and giving him satisfy she knew he was after, Flora did what any other person would have done in her situation: she ran. Running fast and refusing to turn back and meet his dark eyes smiling at her in cruelty. But while she was running, she could still feel his coal-black eyes boring holes into her back and his horribly evil smile chilling every bone in her body.

"You can't hide from your destiny," the young man declared, still down on one knee, watching Flora as she continued to run, her lustrous caramel hair flowing in the wind and her beautiful emerald eyes troubled with tremendous fear. He knew perfectly well how frightened she was, but still couldn't help but smirk at the sight. But even looking terrified, she was still as he perfectly remembered her. Still oh, so beautiful and gorgeous, sealed with pure innocence that would soon be twisted once again. "The hour is near, and the prophecy will be fearful. Soon the whole magical universe will tremble and weep by the great power of the raisin queen."  
__


	3. Chapter 3

Flora ran and ran until her legs were aching from the pain and her lungs burning from the shortness of breath. She was tempted to stop and rest to catch her breath for a moment, but she refused to stop till she was as far away from that sinister devil as soon as possible.

That strange, horrible vision she saw in her head was playing repeatedly over and over like a twisted movie, sending chills up her spine. Those scorning, dark flames; the choking smell of black smoke; the raven birds flying in the sky or sitting motionless on the building ruins, looking both beautiful and frightening at the same time; the screams of the innocent people and laughs of the wicked evil filling the air with sound; and the young woman who was witnessing all this but did nothing to stop it. She had the power to stop it, but still she just sat on the throne and was watching the destruction, as if it was grand show. Her eyes and smile were the only features Flora could make out of the girl, but still wouldn't forget them. She could never those beautiful crimson eyes that shined like brilliant ruby and her twisted, terrible smile. It was all so real to her.

Flora sat down on the ground and closed her eyes, panting hard. For some reason the girl from the dream refused to leave her head. Her heart beat loudly as she saw those brilliant yet dark red eyes and that chilling smile behind her closed eyelids, and she took in slow breaths to calm her heart and keep it from bursting out her chest. The girl was sitting on a high throne like a grand queen, a queen causing destruction and inflicting chaos, finding the whole thing delicious. But that vision...something about it was so wrong...yet so familiar, like it happened before.

Lifting her knees up and wrapping her arms around them, curling up into a ball, she took deep gulps of the cool air, which helped clear her head a bit. When she was finally done with her breathing exercise, she leaned her back against the hard yet smooth tree bark and stared up at the great blue sky, slowly feeling a bit better. She just needed to clear her head. Maybe she was just stressing too much about school. But if one thing was sure, it was that she was never going to meet that stranger ever again. She decided she should talk to her friends about this and also maybe the head mistress, since she always had the best advice for the students whom she treated and loved like they were all her own daughters.

She finally got up on her feet and continued walking. She must have been in a complete daze as she was running, not realizing she was now in Long River Forest. There was nothing but tall, high trees over twenty to forty feet with sunlight leaking through the open spots in the branches, the sound of the flowing river being heard from a distance, beautiful plants and flowers decorated the place here and there, and the small animals being heard playing and the birds chirping happily as they flew in the sky, glad for the sunny day.

Flora began to slowly smile and glanced around at her surrounding. Leave it to nature to always make her forget about her problems and enjoy its' beauty and serenity. Her worries were forgotten as she stretched out her arms and spun around in joy, the cool air whipping her hair and blowing in her face, her nose picking up the scent of roses, daises, and lilacs. She could even feel her Winx power growing stronger in its' natural habitat.

Walking down the narrow path, leading to the center area encircling around trees, Flora finally reached their spot. And then immediately froze as she caught sight of a familiar figure sitting with his legs tied pretzel-crossed on a high rock, with his beautiful blue eyes focused on the sheet paper of his sketchbook that was being filled with different strokes and angles forming into a picture; his lean and toned figure doing absolute wonders to the green peasant long-sleeved shirt and white trousers he was wearing; his long, midnight blue hair in a loose ponytail, resting on his shoulder, with some loose strands flowing in the wind; and his lips in a thin, firm line as he was concentrating on his drawing and thoroughly checking for any flaws or adjustments he could add to the picture.

Flora let out a happy and dreamily sigh, feeling warmness upon her cheeks and a smile spreading across her face as she stared at Helia lovingly. The sight of him looking so perfect and beautiful was more than enough to have her heartbeat racing. It was the same reaction she always had whenever she caught sight of him right away since the first day they met, and he rescued her from being attacked by a disgusting creature. He has been a heroic knight to her ever since. Flora stood tongue-tied in a complete daze, wondering how she should approach him. Should she shout out his name and wave? But that would make her look like she was wanted attention and seem a bit desperate. Or she should probably walk over and give him a hug?

As if he could sense her hesitated presence and read her mind, Helia lowered his notebook and his eyes gazed at her with intensity burning within them, which immediately melted her heart like chocolate. Looking at his intense, beautiful eyes made her feel even more shy than she already was, and placed her in a dreamily daze, where everything else around them blended into dull, lifeless colors while he was standing out as a vivid-colored rainbow. She couldn't even breathe; she couldn't even remember her own name.

He stared at her for a second or two, a look of expressionless wore on his face like mask and she was nearly intimidated by the gaze, until a playful smile lifted up the corners of his lips and he smiled brightly at her. Helia quickly put aside his notebook and hopped off his rock, practically ran over to Flora, and scooped her up in his strong arms, spinning her around and around with the two laughing as they hugged each other tight. The warmth and comfort they felt being in each others' arms was so incredibly good, neither of them wanted it to end.

But unfortunately it had to. Eventually, Helia finally set her down on her feet and wrapped both arms securely around her waist. He cupped her delicate face in his hands, caressing her baby-soft cheeks, as he stared at her beautiful face and memorized each perfect detail into memory. "You look beautiful, Flora." He smiled, placing a soft, lingering kiss on her forehead, and Flora closed her eyes as she felt her skin tingly with warmth by his soft touch.

So soft, gentle, and lovingly. Unlike that burning shock she experienced when she was encountered by that strange man. Flora quickly erased her mind of that stranger and focused her attention on the beautiful guy standing in front of her, whose lips sending tingly chills up her spine and making her head swim in bliss. She was so lucky to have Helia, so glad her dream of her finally confessing much how she liked him and him returning those feelings for her came true, and now they were finally together.

Their relationship wasn't too hard to explain. It was sweet, romantic, and going on a slow turn. Flora was a bit worried at first, after she and Helia finally admitted of being fond of each other and deeply caring about each other, Helia probably wouldn't like being in a relationship with a girl who wanted to take things slow. Boy was she ever glad to say she was so wrong on that one. Helia was totally cool with it, also wanting to take things slow so they could get to know each other a lot better. But despite taking things slow, everyone could clearly see how much the two cared for each other and how serious they were.

Helia took her hand and led her back over to his rock. He lifted her easily, setting her down on the rock before he hopped back on it and joined her. Flora peeked over his left side and her eyes fell on a drawing she could assume was a new one she saw him working on earlier. But before she could grab the book, Helia, moving swiftly, closed the book and snuck it behind his back, smiling innocently at Flora's suspicious expression.

"May I see it? Please?" she asked, fluttering her eyelashes and pouting, giving him her best puppy dog face, which she knew perfectly well he couldn't resist after looking at it for so long.

She could tell by his bitten lip, Helia was trying to stay firm and not give in, but could see the method was failing for him. With a heavy sigh, he turned his head away while he handed her the book. "I have to warn you though, it's barely finished yet. So you might not like it." he said.

Flora smiled while she rolled her eyes playfully. Helia was truly an amazing artist, able to just take one look at something, grab a piece of blank paper and pencil, and make the picture come to life. His collection of endless sketchbooks was filled with incredible drawings, so beautiful and life-like, and also had his beautiful poems. All of his poems were so beautiful and heartfelt; the easiest things that always made tears fall from her eyes. But like any great artist, he was very secretive and critical of his worrk, usually not taking compliments lightly.

Flora turned the page to the new drawing, and was speechless for a moment. The sketch was of her in her Winx form, flying in the forest with beautiful nature as the setting, and the trees and flowers formed a halo around her. There was a soft twinkle in her eyes, a bright smile lightening up her face, and her hands were draped over the flowers, like she was giving them life.

The picture was simply beautiful. She couldn't understand why Helia was so negative about letting other people see his drawings; they were all simply amazing. She lowered the book and smiled at Helia, who cracked a small smile. "I love it, sweetie-pie. I just don't understand why you're so secretive about your drawings." She pecked him on the cheek before handing him back the book.

"Because I want to finish it and make sure they all look great before anyone sees them." he answered, closing the book. "And I usually let certain people see my sketchbook."

"Well you let me see your sketchbook," Flora smiled. "So, that means...."

"It means you're the special kind of person who gets the first look at my sketches when they're finish, because I like you a lot. Actually more than just like." He answered, smiling at her cuteness.

He expected to see a blush on her face and her giggle, telling him to stop. But he was only half-right. Her cheeks had a faded blush color, but there wasn't a smile on her face. Only a sullen expression wore on her face and the distant dazed in her eyes, which told him something was definitely bothering her. "What's wrong?" he asked concerned, wrapping one arm protectively around her shoulder and rubbing her back gently.

She closed her eyes for a brief moment, taking her time to pull herself together and reminded herself over again to forget about her troubles, and was able to muster a weak smile onto her lips. "Nothing." She mumbled, brushing back her hair away from her eyes. "Just have a lot on my mind."

But Helia didn't believe her for a minute; he knew Flora much better than that and could easily tell something was bothering her. He wanted to find out what it was. Shaking his head side to side, he concluded "No, it's more than that. Whatever it is, Flora, you can tell me."

Flora opened her mouth to assure him again nothing was bothering her, but stopped a moment when she saw the firmness in Helia's eyes that told her he wanted to know the truth. She then turned her head away to avoid looking him in the eyes, knowing everything would spill out of her if she looked directly into them, but he gently yet firmly grabbed hold of her chin and turned her head back to him, her dark jade-green eyes meeting with his deep blue eyes and had a silent conversation with each other through their eyes. They gazed deeply into each other's eyes for a good portion of time, both determined not to break their gaze until the other break it first.

Finally after staring into his probing, determined eyes, Flora sighed heavily as she turned her head away, taking a deep breath. She turned back to Helia and told him everything that happened to her when she left for the bus station, saying it slowly so he can understand her words. She told him how she had a strong sense someone was stalking her; the blond-haired attractive stranger who seated across from her on the bus, and had a frighteningly dark aura in his presence that was extremely disturbing but how he was so vaguely familiar to her, like she had seen him somewhere before; how she quickly ran out of the bus when it finally reached its' distination, wanting to get as far away from the man as far as possible but he was suddenly right behind her and was able to trap her; the smug smirks on his face as he watched her struggling to get away from him; and the hot burning touch of his hand, used to grabbed hers tightly in a tight grasp, and how his hot touch suddenly blackened her vision and placed her in the horrible, hellish nightmare that caused her heart to beat loudly against her chest and gasping for air when she finally able to snap out of the dream. Flora then lastly explained the strange 'S' imprinted on her hand, which was bright crimson red and was actually glowing like bright ruby, when she able to escape the man's grasp, adding how it vanished instantly before she could fully examine it.

When she was finally done explaining all that has happened, Flora was once again shaking in fear and had both arms wrapped tightly around her torso, giving her lifeless comfort. She was quietly gasping for air, finding it strangely hard to breathe and hard for her to even think straight, panting hard. All of this was being watched by Helia, who sat by her side and was silent as she told him the tale. His facial expressions went through several different stages: concerned; suspicious with bits of jealously in his eyes when Flora told him how the strange man was indeed sinister yet attractive, though she clearly stated she had zero interest in him; and deeply concerned for Flora when she told him the terrifying vision she saw in her head, caused by the man's burning touch.

Helia did what any comforting boyfriend would do for his depressed girlfriend: he pulled her into his arms, laying her head on his chest and stroked her hair lovingly, enveloping her in a comforting hug while placing soft kisses on her head. Flora buried her head more into his toned chest, feeling a faint blush coming to her face and a sense of relief by the support she was given, secretly grateful she had such a wonderful boyfriend. And yet, even though she was grateful, it didn't stop her from crying a bit. He could feel her warm teardrops staining his shirt but couldn't care less about that and held onto Flora tighter.

"It's okay, Flora. It's okay," He murmured soothingly into her left ear. "I'll personally make sure he never comes nears you again-unless he really wants to get hurt." he said, and Flora took note of the fireceness used in his tone. Helia was the peaceful one of the red Fountain boys, so hearing talking so fiercely about fighting meant he was serious and meant business, which doesn't come as much as a surprise since he was always protective when it comes to Flora.

Flora shook her head as she slowly pulled away from him, with his arms still wrapped around her slim waist, and wiped a few tears away from her eyes while some continued to roll down her cheeks. Despite the fact she was entirely grateful for Helia wanting to protect her, she didn't want him anywhere near that man. If he was able to do a enchantment on her which burned her hand and created the horrifyingly vision, there was no telling what he could do to Helia. Just thinking about the possibilities caused the hairs on her neck to stand straight, all too much for her to even handle.

"As much as I'm thankful for you wanting to protect me, I don't want you to be even a hundred feet near him," she told him. "And it's not just him that frightens me, it's the vision he out in my head. It felt more than just a vision; it was so real and so…familiar, like a distant dream. The same feeling I had with the strange man." She then shuddered as quick flashbacks of the vision played in her head, showing the roaring flames and raven birds, the innocent people molted into stone, and lastly the girl. Flora swallowed a huge lump that was wedged in her throat, taking in deep breaths to stop her from crying while two huge, fat teardrops rolled down her cheeks. "That girl…she was the cause of the destruction, I could tell. She caused all that destruction and stood by to watch it all unfold."

It pained Helia so much to see his sweet Flora like this. Seeing her cry and breaking down was more than enough to kill him. He usually wasn't a violent person, but now wanted more than anything to find the creep who harmed Flora and get even with him. The very **_hard _**way.

"The girl you saw in your vision, did you get a good look of her face? Have you ever seen her before?" he questioned, cupping Flora's delicate face in his hands. Her hot tears were dripping like rain onto his hands, and he wiped (and also sometime kissed) the tears away.

Shaking her head miserably, Flora answered sadly "Her face was mostly covered by the dark shadows, but I only got to see two features. Her eyes were breathtaking and radiant ruby red, but had so much coldness within them, and her smile. Her smile was the coldest, darkest smile I had ever seen on any other person's face. Even darker than any villain we faced. It was so cruel and smug, like seeing all the chaos she caused gave her triumph and dark pleasure."

"Sounds like an evil witch." Helia replied, with a frown darkening his face.

"She was-I could tell," Flora frowned. "The aura around her was so dark and cold. Even more than the strange man I encountered. Her aura was so cold like ice and insanely, unimaginably dark. For some reason, Helia, I could easily tell she was very powerful, like a million times stronger and powerful that it seemed nearly impossibly to even of beating her. And the worst thing is I felt a strong sense of déjà vu. It's like I know her from somewhere."

"Tell me about the mark you saw on your hand. I can draw it, then you can show it to your friends and Ms. Faragonda. There's a good chance one of them might know what it means." Helia said, already turning his sketchbook to a new fresh page with his sharpened pencil pressed against it.

Flora thought hard about the strange mark the man seemed to burn onto her hand, and told Helia as much as she could remember about it. She was amazed to see how the fast Helia's hand was scribbling onto the paper.

He put down his pencil and took a breath, finally done with the sketch. He glanced at the drawing once with narrowed eyes before turning it around for Flora to see. "Is this how it looked like?" he asked.

For a moment, Flora was utterly speechless as she stared at the sketch. Helia's neat calligraphy was somehow a bit more messy than the actual writing, but with the perfect detail and angle the sketch was a perfect copy of the italicized Gothic 'S'. Too perfect actually. Just looking at it, she felt an icy coolness running cold in her blood, chilling her down to the bone, and she realized she was shaking again. "That's it. The same mark the guy imprinted on me." She said in a shaken voice.

Helia looked at her worriedly and wrapped one arm around her waist, pulling her close to him and rubbed her back. Then he ripped the paper from his book and handed it to Flora, watching her fold the paper over and over again till it was a tiny square and put inside her purse. He let out a blow of air as he rested his chin on her soft hair while she rested her head on his toned chest, her eyes closed even though she was still fully awake. "I'll never let that creep get anywhere near you, Flora." He said. "I'll always protect you, no matter what."

Since a long while, Flora slowly began to smile. Knowing she had a special someone who wanted to protect her made some of her fears at least slip away. She snuggled up to Helia, feeling a bit better. "It's good to know I have a knight in shining armor coming to my rescue. I can see you now riding on your white horse, coming to protect me."

Flora laughed and Helia joined her in the laughter. "Well I don't know about a white horse, but I can ride on my levabike." He said.

"That's just as good," she smiled, and then let out a sigh. "You're so wonderful. I don't deserve you."

She thought she didn't deserve him! Helia resisted the urge to laugh in disbelief, finding that absurd. Flora really does underestimate herself most of the time, and doesn't have any idea how wonderful she truly was. She still had no idea she was his muse for his poetry and artwork; that seven of his sketchbooks were filled with portraits, drawings, and poems of her. She was an angel to him, a beautiful angel with a heart of gold and was perfect from the inside out. She was completely unaware how the minute he sees her, he was practically bouncing off the walls like an over excited little puppy; how her beauty stunned his mind and caused time to freeze; and how seeing her smile was the strength he needed to get through the day, whether it's good or bad. And how irresistible she was. He was clearly the one who didn't deserve her.

"No Flora. I'm the one who clearly doesn't deserve you." Helia smiled, gazing down at her lovingly. He then slowly leaned in close to her, and soon Flora was following his lead.

Everything was instantly erased from her mind the moment Flora felt his soft lips covering hers and he kissed her, putting them both in a private place that seemed like it was millions miles away and heaven-like. Sparks flew like mad fireworks, and her head was spinning once more-this time in a blissful daze.

The kiss started out as soft and gentle at first, with their lips pressed firmly against each other, but slowly grew into something more as Helia's tongue easily slipped through her lips and gained access to her sweet mouth while Flora felt adrenaline burning within her as she brushed her tongue against his, exploring every sweet part of his mouth. The soft kiss deepened, becoming more and more passionate. And it wasn't long before Helia gently pushed Flora onto the rock while he hovered over her, careful not to put too much of his weight on her. He moaned softly into her mouth as she deepened the kiss and encircled her hands securely around his neck. She then moaned loudly as she felt his arms wrapped more tightly around her waist, and his fingers snaking under her top and traced lines on her back.

This was more than just making out. It was something more, much more.

When oxygen was starting to become a problem for the both of them, Flora was the first one to break their make-out session. She gazed up at Helia, still feeling light-headed from the intensity in their kiss, and smiled when she saw Helia also wore a smile on his own face. His steel blue eyes were smoldered with burning intensity, which showed her he was also breathless from their make-out session.

She couldn't help giggling a bit though, spotting some of her lipstick smudged on his lips. And seeing the slight confusion in his expression made her giggle a bit more. He looked so funny yet adorable at the same time. "It's so wonderful to see pink is a good color on you, Helia. It really goes with your complexion." she teased, as she wiped some off his lips.

"You're lucky I care about you so much, otherwise I would have gotten you back for that little comment." Helia replied, pecking her slowly on the lips before leaning down and giving her a proper kiss.

The thoughts of the man and the vision were still bothering her, but Flora was successfully able to put them in the back of her mind, to not let anything ruin the perfect spring day for her. She spent all afternoon and the rest of the day with Helia in the forest, both of them laughing and talking and exchanging a few kisses every few minutes, with some of the kisses soft and gentle while others were really passionate and deep. And the day went by surprisingly fast. It felt like they were only in their forest for a few minutes, when really they were there for a couple of hours.

He drove her back to Alfea campus on his sleek levabike when time was starting to get really late. They said their goodbyes and shared one last passionate kiss, causing butterflies in her stomach to burst into firework sparks, before Helia unwillingly and slowly pulled his lips away from hers, murmured a soft goodbye in her ear while kissing her temple softly, and then rode away. Flora waved goodbye to him and watched him ride away till he was finally gone from sight, sighing dreamily with her hand placed over her chest that contained her loud beating heart as she thought about her boyfriend.

"You're in love." Stella stated later that night. She was dressed in her new creme-white silk nightgown, her matching comfy night slippers were wore on her feet, and had over a dozen hair-rollers in different, vivid colors curled up in her hair. She was whisked some smooth, coca-colored blush on Layla's face, which went marvelous with her smooth dark complexion, while Layla was experimenting a bright orangery-pink lipstick shade on Stella, which looked more like she was kissed by a pumpkin. "Admit it, Flora. The love bug has definitely bite you hard, and cupid shot you with his arrow."

The girls were having their annual Saturday pajama party/sleepover, one of their many friendship traditions they have been doing since freshmen year. They were holding their pajama party at Stella's room, which was the biggest room in the their dorm that was the only single but had more than enough room to fit two dozens girls. Stacks of different genre movie DVDs were standing next to the wide-screen TV that was adorned on the wall, which was already playing an romantic action-thriller onscreen with no one paying that much attention to it; some of Musa's hot playlist were playing on the the loud stereo, which the girls got up to dance to every now and then; and huge bowls filled with candy and chocolate on the coffee table, and four large extra cheese, pepperoni pizzas sitting by the left side of the candy bowl while three dozens packs of canned sodas were sitting by its' right.

They didn't bother turning down the noise, since most of the other girls in the school were having loud pajama parties in their own dorms, too. It was one of the morning, but the girls were having too much fun to even think about sleeping. Instead they were dancing to the music, stopping every now and then to have another slice of pizza or a soda, and were giving each other makeovers. Musa and Bloom were standing in front of Stella's wide, full-view mirror and trying out new hair spells, laughing at some of the crazy hairstyles they did on each other; Stella and Layla were sitting on Stella's king-size canopy bed and giving each other makeovers, using the endless makeup collection Stella had that was more than enough to last a lifetime; and Tecna and Flora were sitting on the beige-colored soft, velvet mini couches, getting their toes and nails done.

Since Flora came back from her afternoon date with Helia, the girls have been grilling her about with so many questions she couldn't even answer. Once the others caught sight of her smudged lipstick and her lips practically red, her face absolutely flushed while her cheeks were bright red, and the smile on her face, they could all tell she had a enjoyable, wonderful time with Helia. And even though Flora answered as much questions as she could, they were still bugging her. Especially Stella, who was still demanding more detail and gave her own conclusion on Flora's ever-so-happy condition as soon as she was done telling them about her enjoyable time with Helia, leaving out a few parts she wasn't ready yet to tell them yet.

"You're in love, girl. Looks like Cupid shot you real good with his arrow." Stella smirked.

"Honestly Stella," Tecna groaned, shaking her head.

Flora only smiled at Stella, saying "Helia and I have only been dating for a short while, Stella."

"Exactly," Tecna agreed. "Love takes time to develop and grow. It can't happen in a short of time. There's a name for that, and it's only lust."

Though Tecna had a strong, good point, Flora, however, couldn't help but frown a bit as she looked down at the ground. She and Helia really cared about each other, and even though they were taking things slow, they had a really strong chemistry connection between them that was pulling them closer. While lust was a very strong and eager desire to have for someone, which she very much did for Helia, it also was mostly a feeling of strong sexual desire. It mostly had to do with sex, and that wasn't what she entirely wanted from him. The word itself seem...a bit dirty.

"Don't be ridiculous, Tec. Lust then would only mean Flora and Helia want to get into each others' pants."Stella objected.

"_STELLA_!" the girls exclaimed, frustrated their friend sometimes forgets to think before she says anything. Flora was silent, looking down at the floor while her face was as red as a bright tomato.

Tecna slapped the palm of her hand against her forehead and massaged her tired temples, as if Stella's comment just added exhausted stress on her head. "What I meant to say, Stella, is that whatever Flora and Helia are feeling now can't be love. It's like....a longing, a comfortable enjoyment to have each other's company. That's what I mean. It's impossible for love to happen just like that." She said with a snap of her fingers.

"Actually, you're wrong, Tecna." said a soft voice. All the girls looked up and watched Amore, Stella's bonded pixie who was also the pixie of love, slowly flow down from the ceiling where she was flying with the other pixes, down to the ground. Being the pixie of love, Amore was a little baby cupid-only without the diaper and bow and arrow. She wore ruffle dresses of different shades of pink and red, which were the colors of love, and wore plump roses in her hair. She brought people together, helping others find love and knows everything there was to know about love.

Straightening out her ruffle dress and combing away her long, dark red hair away from her eyes, the small pixie smiled at Tecna and said "Love is unconditional and true, not something you can measure with math and science. Besides isn't that all of you feel about your own boyfriends?" She gave them all a knowing look, bits of mischief smugness gleaming in her eyes.

Each girl took that small moment to sit in silence while bright red colors colored their cheeks and wide smiles were splashed across their faces. It was pretty obvious their happy, blushing faces answered her question.

Stella quickly recovered from that moment, clearing her throat and shaking her head to snap herself out of it, and went back to smiling at Flora. "Amore's totally right. You're head over heels in love with Helia, Flora. You have what the rest of us had when we first met our own boyfriends. Love at first sight! A rare yet magical thing that happens to a person when they look into the eyes of that special someone, immediately falling for him or her. And you have all the symptoms," She said each symptom while counting them off the fingers of her right hand. "Happy smiles so wide and mostly unwiped from your face, your already positive attitude becoming even more positive, your lack of confidence in yourself starting to develop and increase with more bolder confidence, and the fact you blush and stutter whenever someone mentions his name is a definite bonus."

"That little thing can easily be a crush." Flora said, looking away to the opposite direction to hide her bright red blushed cheeks away from Stella.

"Is it?" Stella arched her eyebrow, the smile still unwiped from her face. Grabbing another slice of pizza, she took a huge bite and washed it down with half an can of Coke. "Let's review. How do your knees feel whenever he's standing in front of you?"

This was something they all needed to hear. They gathered around Flora, forming a circle around the velvet seats. Flora tried to look away from their smugly smiling faces while her blush, being an ultimate traitor to her, was getting redder and redder each second. "They're weak like jello and spaghetti." She answered truthfully.

"Aww." The girls, including the pixies, said in unison, making Flora's blush ever redder.

"Guys!" She exclaimed, covering her bright red face with her hands. Reaching behind her, she grabbed a pillow and threw it directly at Stella's head, but Stella, with her quick reflexes, dodged and the pillow ended up hitting Layla's face instead. Flora removed her hands from her face placed her left hand over her mouth in utter mortification.

The pillow slowly dropped off Layla's face, landing on the floor with a soft thump. White feathers were entangled into her dark hair, and the girls giggled a bit as they watched her blew a feather that was sitting on her nose up in the air.

"Alright, moving on," Stella said, not about to let the sudden distraction change the subject. She laid flat on her stomach, propping her elbows up and resting her chin on her hands, her feet crossed together and kicking in the air. "Now answer this question. Does your heart beat loud whenever you see Helia?"

"Like a bongo." Flora said, feeling hot warmness spreading across her face. She had to cover her face with her hands again to hide from her friends' smirking faces.

"Does your head spin around and around whenever you two kiss? Do you feel like you're in heaven when you feel his sweet lips covering yours, making you feel like you're about to melt to the very ground?" Stella questioned, talking like the true romantic she very much was.

"Yes, yes, and yes. Every time we kiss, I feel I'm already flying without the need of transforming."

"Whoa!" The girls exclaimed, with big smiles splashed on their faces.

Stella couldn't resist joining the others in laughter, and smirked at Flora. Her face may be covered with her hands, but Stella could easily tell her friend's face was bright red as a tomato. "And how does your stomach feel? Queasy?"

"I feel like I'm about to hurl." The common yet humorful answer caused another round of laughter to spread among the friends.

"It's official. You're totally, head-over-heels in love with Helia, Flora." Stella declared, with a huge smile on her face, more than satisfied she was right while Tecna was wrong about the love thing.

"Our little Flora is growing up." Layla commented.

"Flora's in love, Flora's in love, Flora's in love," The girls stood up and spread some space a bit, then joined hands, holding onto each other's firmly, and spun around Flora. The young nature fairy was sinking into her seat, her bright red burning up like a hot stove from the embarrassing tauting, while her friends were singing their silly song and spinning around her, acting like children. "Flora's in love, Flora's in love, Flora's in love. Flora and Helia sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes marriage, then Flora with a baby carriage."

Finally fed up with their childish behavior, Flora quickly grabbed as many pillows as she could while the others were too busy singing and spinning to notice, stacking them into a mountain-pile by her side and held a big one in her hand. She smirked as her friends finally stopped spinning when they noticed the smug expression on her face, and watched their own expressions becoming panicked as the watched the pillow being tossed and caught in Flora's hand. She looked a solider ready for combat practice, and, seeing the wicked gleam in her eyes, they realized they were the targets.

Shrieks, mixed with loud exclamations and laughter, filled the room with sound as the girls were running around the room, trying to avoid gettign hit from the flying pillows Flora was throwing with a real good arm. They were either ducking or getting hit by the pillows. Tecna fell flat on her butt as four pillows hit from every direction, throwing her off direction. Musa and Bloom were by the left side of Stella's bed, taking cover from the aiming pillows while throwing some themselves at Flora, laughing and smirking as a few were able to make contact with the nature fairy's face. Stella and Layla were the only ones left still standing, literally, up against Flora.

Flora reached for another pillow, only feeling the soft carpet of the floor. Confused, she turned around and saw she was out of pillows. That was not good, well at least not for her.

Layla and Stella quickly took that moment to get her. Quickly grabbing the pillows scattered all over the floor, they raced toward her and assaulted her with the pillows, aiming some straight at her head while they used the others to whack her with. The scene was like a war of pillow, with two rebel soldiers fighting against their leader general.

Finally Flora held her hands up in defeated surrender, and Layla and Stella beamed at each other and shared a double high-five. Bloom and Musa finally got out from their hiding spots, the pixies emerged from the top shelves and draw where they took cover from the battle, and Tecna finally got up from the ground with some help from Musa. All were completely silent as they eyed Stella's room.

The place looked as if it was attacked by hundreds of birds, completely covered in a rain of pillow feathers flowing around the room and sprinkling like dust onto the floor. The girls themselves were covered from head to toe in feathers; each one looked even more ridiculous than the last with feathers entangled in their hair, which was going to put up a big fight when they'll later have to pull it off, and their clothes sprinkled with the stuff. The feathers were stuck on them like glue.

Their lips began to slowly twitch, beginning small as a tiny flinch but was soon quivering uncontrollably. Unable to hold it in any longer, they opened their mouths and howls of loud laughter bellowed throughout the room. The pixies soon joined in the laughter, and Bloom's cute little rabbit, Kiko, was lying on his back and his feet kicking wildly as he was laughing his head off.

All were practically dying from laughter, all expect for Musa's bonded pixie, Tune. The tiny pixie of proper etiquette and manners scowled as she pulled the feathers off her dress and fixed her lavender braided, Shirley Temple curly hair. The way the girls were fighting with their pillows, acting like barbarians instead of proper ladies as they flung pillows at one another and causing a huge mess, was so childish and ridiculous. She didn't know whether to cry or scream at the utter silliness they were displaying.

"Messy, messy, messy!" She exclaimed in frustration, getting madder and madder as she plopped feather after feather off from herself. "This kind of behavior is extremely unladylike."

"Sometimes, Tune, even a proper lady needs to cut loose and break a few unladylike rules every once and awhile." Layla said, trying to reason with Tune, whose hard-headed ways made it impossible to see anyone else's different points of view when it came to manners. Being the princess of Tides, Layla had multiple teachers who taught her from a very young age that etiquette was everything that could make a girl shine or fall. And she hated every minute of it. She was told how to walk and talk, what to wear and how to smile, and the whole thing just made her want to scream. After all, as far as she concerned, this was the 21st century for crying out loud and no actual princess was required to be present but silent, like she was mannequin to be out for display.

"But Stella is right about one thing though. I definitely see true love in your future, Flora." Amore beamed. She flew down to Flora's lap, smiling happily. She then pulled the plump red rose from her hair and tossed it carelessly up in the air. Instead of it falling to the ground, the rose magically flow over her head and was spinning around like a spinning toy top. The girls watched in fascination as the flower closed itself up tightly before gracefully opening wide, still twirling around and around. Quickly one by one, the petals began to pull away from the rose and swirled around Amore, like a rose tornado. "My love roses tell me it is so."

Grinning, Amore held out her hand and felt something soft and warm fell into her hand. From the corner of her eye, she saw it. It was a petal in a vivid red color, which was incredibly warm and silkily soft to her touch like rich cotton. "My love petals show the amount of love someone has in their life. Love from their friends, family, and boyfriends and girlfriends. The bigger the swirl is, the more love it shows the person has, and you have a lot, Flora. According to this petal, its' bright red color and soft touch shows Helia feels passion and true love for you. And the warmth from the rose means that the love he feels is tender. He's as much in love with you as you are with him. The love he feels for you is true, passionate, and tender," she explained, delighted to see the baffled expression on Flora's face turn into a big smile. "Even though he is very shy to tell you the truth about his feelings because he's scared you would think he was rushing things and that you might not feel the same way about him, Helia is in love with you. Undeniably, unconditionally in love with you."

_He loves me?!_ Flora thought, frozen in place while her heart was pounding hard against her chest like a bongo drum from the sudden news. Her mouth was opened wide, but each time she tried to say something the words would never come sudden news was overwhelming, and she was too stun to even talk. All around her, her friends were talking excitedly and practically screaming giddily. They were all so happy for Flora that she has a boyfriend who cares so much about her. But she was motionless in her seat, her eyes glaring at the wall without really seeing it while her head was spinning from so many thoughts caused by her mind.

She couldn't believe it, she honestly couldn't believe it. Helia actually loved her. She knew he liked her a lot, but never could have guessed he really felt that way about her. She honestly didn't think any boy would feel that way about her, because, while her friends were all confident and very unique in their own ways and knew their ways around boys, she was the shy and quiet one. The soft-spoken one, who would blush lightly when a boy would look her way and smile. Though her stunning looks were admired by boys from afar, they would never came and would usually go to another girl. She thought when she first arrived to Alfea and watched all her friends happy with their boyfriends, acting all happy and smitten with each other, there would never be a boy for her. But now she could see how horribly wrong she was.

_He loves me_, she thought giddily as her mind pictured Helia's smiling, handsome face. Her heart was still pounding like mad, and she was surprised it wasn't bursting from her chest. Her mind and body felt dazed with happiness, as if she was high on an addicting drug and placed in a fantasy wonderland. Only this was a dream happening in reality, which made it even more wonderfully amazing. The boy she loved since day one actually felt the same way about _her_. Life couldn't get any better than this.

Her thoughts were soon interrupted as she felt two arms grab her into a fierce, squeezing embrace, nearly crushing her bones. She turned to see Bloom was the one squeezing her tightly, beaming while she tightened her crushing grip.

"This is so awesome, Flo," Musa said. "I wouldn't be surprised if five years from now, I'll be singing a love song at you guys' wedding." The others couldn't help laughing at the comment, including Flora, who grabbed a pillow and used it to press against Musa's face, chuckling when she saw her friend squirming underneath the pillow. Musa finally freed herself and used the same pillow to smack Flora on the head.

"Only after you sing at me and Brandon's wedding, Musa," Stella said, making the girls laugh more. "And it's going to be a huge fairy tale wedding, with white being the main theme and gold glitter, a huge mountain-top chocolate and vanilla cake and mouthwatering food served with the best wine and champagne, the guys can be the ushers and you girls will be my bridesmaids, Bloom will be my maid of honor and my cousin, Beth, can be the flower girl, all of you will be looking hot, wearing drop-dead gorgeous dresses and me dressed in a breathtaking, Stella McCarthy strapless dress-"

She was cut off by the multiple pillows her friends threw at her to shut her up before she goes on and on.

Amore shook her head at the girls, but then felt something landing in her hand. She looked at her palm and nearly gasped. On her hand was another love petal sitting next to the other one, but was drastically different from the previous one. It was pure white as snow, but felt so cold and somehow dark to her touch, actually chilling her bones as she dabbed it lightly with her finger. The tip was dipped in an inky black color and had a dark red streak running through it.

The pixie was astonished. She had in her life never seen a rose like this.

Stella looked at Amore's feared expression, and started to worry about her pixie. "Amore, what's wrong?"

"What's wrong is the petals, Stella." Amore answered. The laughter in the room suddenly became silent, and all eyes were focused on the small pixie, who was blushing a bit from the unwanted attention. She gulped down a nervous lump, and looked down the exotic petal. It was both so cold like ice yet burning up like hot fire, which usually would result in a warm feeling but only had a frightening aura.

"Well, what's the matter, Amore?" Bloom asked.

Wordlessly, she showed them all the exotic-looking petal and saw looks of stunned confusion on their faces. "This petal fell into my palm a few moments ago. According to my love roses, there are not only one but two suitors who are deeply in love with Flora."

_Two?_ Flora thought, seeing the red and white love petals on Amore's small hand. One stood for true love while the other meant eternal. She knew very well Helia was the red rose, the one who felt true love for her. So the question was who's the other?

Bloom seemed to be reading her mind, asking Amore "We already know Helia is the red rose, and red stand for true love. So who's the second? And what does white mean?"

"While red stands for true love, white means eternal. According to my petal, the other has been madly in love with Flora practically... forever, since before she was even born. The dark red streak shows deep affection and mad obsession, which means he's as much obsessed with Flora as he is in love with her. The obsession is very mad, very alarmingly, and the blackened color on the tip shows cold darkness. He's willing to do anything possible for her to feel the same way about him, and will do absolutely anything for her to be his and his alone."

"Okay, let me get this straight," Musa said, trying to process all this in. "The second guy has been in love with Flora since before she was even born."

"And is very much obsessed with her as he is in love with her." Tecna spoke next.

"But has a cold, dark heart." Layla then said.

"And is willing to anything possible for her to feel the same way about him, but is also desperate enough to do absolutely anything for her to be only his and his alone." Stella said, finishing the long draw-out speech.

"The dude definitely sounds like a stalker to me." Musa commented, and they all nodded in agreement.

Amore nodded silently, and Bloom looked at her confused. "I'm no love expert, Amore, but is it really possible for someone to be in love with someone else since before they were even born?" she asked the young pixie.

Stella spoke up before Amore could answer the question. "Well, technically that's how arranged marriages work. My cousin, Lee, was engaged to be married to his future bride the minute after he was born. It's like while my aunt was rocking him in her arms, my uncle had the servants make a super long list of possible, perfect candidates to be his fiance. He's two now and his future bride is some court's daughter, and they plan to have their wedding when they both turn sixteen."

Tecna stared oddly at the sun-powered princess, her left eyebrow arched in confusion while she was too baffled for a moment to even speak. Stella was one of her best friends, whom she cared deeply about like a sister, but often she wondered if she was aware of some things she says. "But those are _arranged_ marriages, Stella, which only served a purpose of uniting two households and/or kingdoms. It's mostly to benefit the parents' politices than the children's benefit. There's barely any in love between the husband and bride."

"Not all arranged marriages are like that. In some, the person starts to fall for the person whom they were expected to marry." Layla said in a tone the others noticed was a bit defensive. The girls couldn't help but snicker though, since Layla herself used to loathe arranged marriages.

At the beginning of senior year, Layla was informed by her parents she was engaged to be married to a prince named Nabu, a guy whom she never met before and yet was expected to to be wed to as soon as possible. It's _tradition_, her parents simply said to her despite her screams and cries and complaints of protests, that has united the past kings and queens of Tides for centuries. A sacred tradition, she, too, was required to follow if she wanted to take the throne of Tides someday and the subject was closed for discussion. Outraged with her parents and the sickening thought of her actually being married while she was still young, Layla boldly exclaimed she would rather face off an entire army of monsters or drop dead than get married to some low-life creep her parents picked out to be her husband.

But all that protesting immediately came to a halt when she met Ophir, a young wizard who seemed mysterious and seemed to be fond of her while he was watching her from his hiding spots. He seemed good-looking enough, with his long reddish-brown braid that was that was went down longer past his waist and attractively, good-looking face. True, she didn't exactly fell head over heels for the guy at first. With things being so crazy with Baltor and Ophir always seemed to come at the exact moments before and after Baltor made his appearances, staying silent and watchful of the girls, they were all convinced he was a spy working for Baltor. But soon he was able to prove he was on their side and became friends with all of them, got enrolled into Red Fountain with the rest of the guys, and he and Layla became really close-extremely close. Soon, Layla found out Ophir was actually Prince Nabu, her supposed fiancee. Turns out, Nabu wasn't exactly thrilled either at the thought of being married to a princess whom he has never met before, and went to go find out more about his supposed fiance. And finding out more about her, he was beginning to like Layla and wasn't starting to mind about the idea of being married.

Finding out the truth about Oprhir didn't make her mad, it instead brought them closer together. Now they were happily dating, Layla has herself an awesome boyfriend, and also doesn't seem to mind the idea of being married to Nabu.

"Well aside from you and Nabu, Layla, that's just the way most arranged marriages worked out." Tecna pointed out.

"Only this is a completely different story. We're not talking about some guy my parents chose to be my husband," said Flora, drawing the attention to her. "What we're talking about, girls, is some guy whom I had never met before that has been in love with me since before I was even born."

"But if he has a mad obsession with you and is apparently desperate enough to do anything to make sure you're his, then it's obvious he's a stalker." Musa concluded.

Bloom turned to Amore, who was still gazing at the flower with a confused expression on her face. "Amore, isn't there anything more you can tell us about this guy? Because this is seriously not making any sense."

Amore pressed her fingers hard against the petal and closed her eyes, concentrating hard on her magic and trying to see more. But something was wrong, very wrong. There was something blocking her from seeing his face, blackening her vision of his identity. She could only feel the emotions running through his heart: love, affection, obsession, craved with yearning, ice-coldness, devious, dark. So dark. His heart was so dark, so dark and cold, and his obsession of Flora seemed to be the only positive, non-evil emotion in his heart. The line of affection he felt for her was dark red, darkened with obsession, and seemed to go back further. Much further than even seventeen years. But she couldn't see anything more beyond that.

Sighing sadly, she said "The petal is confusing me as well. It says to me this man has deep feelings for Flora that goes back even further than her birth. It goes back to decades, centuries to be exact."

Even more confused than before, the girls turned to one another in hopes someone could possibly come up with a good explanation. But were disappointed to see no one could think of anything to say. Whoever this guy was, the second admirer, he wasn't making sense. They were told he was cold with a black heart, has a very alarmingly obsession with Flora, and has a deep love for her that goes back years ago. Centuries ago.

Amore looked up at Flora and held out the exotic rose petal. "For some reason, I'm unable to see his identity. It's as if something is blocking me from seeing his face. Flora, since you're the fairy of nature, then maybe you'll be able to see a clear picture of him."

For some reason, as she looked down at the rose petal, Flora began to feel fearful chills running up her spine. And she shouldn't even be afraid. It was only a petal, and she was a nature fairy who dealt with all kinds of different plants, including ones that were deadly poisonous. She couldn't understand why she was so hesitate to this petal. Maybe it was because of its' strange appearance? Or probably because after Amore describing bits of the man's heart, she had a pretty good guess who it could be.

She took a deep breath and tried to relax her body, which was already tensed up and stiffen. Channeling her Winx, with her eyes shut closed and tight, Flora reached out and hesitantly ran her finger across the petal, which felt so fragile to her touch. She could now understand why Amore was so scared and hesitate about the petal; there was something very wrong with it. There was so much evil surrounding it, darkness too intense for her to handle on her own, and pulsed through her body, chilling and practically sizzled her veins. She had felt this aura before. It was all so clear now.

Behind her closed eyes, she had a perfect look of his face and felt herself shaking in fear once again. Pale blond, curly hair that looked so soft to touch, his body lean and toned with some fitted features, his face unspeakably attractive and unimaginably beautiful that was too beautiful for eyes to even see. But there was an frightening, bone-chilling aura darkening his pleasant face, which immediately overshadowed his beauty and made him look like a beautiful demon disguised as man. A smile of ice-coldness and bone-chilling wickedness slowly, painfully slow, spread across his face, revealing his bleach white teeth which were sharp and monstrous that were fitted into a wide, dreadful smile that chilled every bone in her body. And his eyes, eyes that held so much heartless cruelty and were dark and cold as stone, were like ice slicing right through her.

It was him!

"_No, stop!_" Flora screamed, immediately taking her hand back and opened her eyes wide. The man's face was slowly disintegrating from her vision, and the last thing she saw was his coal-black eyes smiling wickedly at her, his pierce boring into her and looking at her like a predator after his prey, before they vanished from sight. But still could feel the ice-cold, chilling pierce burning right through her and still lingered in the air. Taking slow, shaky deep breaths, she wrapped her arms around herself and looked down at the petal, which was still surrounded by the dark aura, backing herself away from it.

Bloom, Stella, Musa, Tecna, and Layla glanced down at the rose petal themselves and then turned to Flora, who was using her hand to rub the other, and were puzzled. This was a surprise to see Flora like this, so scared and fearful of a plant. But as surprised as they were, they were also greatly worried for her. Whatever the rose petal showed Flora, it had to be really scary enough to have her shaking like she was now.

"It's alright, Flora. It's okay." Tecna pulled Flora into a comforting hug, holding onto her tightly while Flora buried her head into the nape of Tenca's neck.

"Who did you see, Flo?" Musa asked, concerned for Flora. "Was it someone you knew? A person you met?"

"You could sort of say that." The young fairy mumbled. She wasn't in the mood to start crying again, which she already did plenty enough for the day. She just wanted this all to stop, and to erase the existence of the blond-haired devil out from her mind. Flora looked at the concerned faces of her friends and sucked in her breath, slowly letting it out. It was now or never, and she was going to have to tell them sooner or later. Taking in another deep breath and let it out, she spilled and told them everything that took place later in the afternoon like she did with Helia, repeating the whole story over again and said it slowly and clearly so they could understand. She started from the feeling someone was watching her closely, and later explained the vision the guy implanted in her head as he burned the sinister 'S' onto her hand.

When she finally done telling them, Bloom and Layla hugged Flora tightly while Tecna, Stella, and Musa were quiet and wore sober, grim expressions on their faces. She could feel all the earlier laughs and fun they had being sucked dry, leaving the room only sober and silent. She knew this was all her fault. It was surprising how the day turned out to be. She thought she would hanging out with her friends like she always does before spending some time with Helia and having fun, but instead the day seemed to sour out. All because of some strange guy, the mark he burned onto her hand, and the vision. It seemed no matter what she did, it was like she could never escape him. And when he wasn't here, the dark aura of his presence left a dark, cold feeling lingering in the air. She felt so powerless and vulnerable, as if someone had sucked the life out of her and left her cold and powerless.

Each girl looked down at the ground with dazedness in her eyes, their sight set on something but wasn't really seeing anything, and was lost in her own private thought. After hearing about what just happened to their friend, the girls felt strong urges to hug her tightly and help her forget everything but at the same time wanted to hunt down the creep who messed with her and teach him what happens when you mess with one of the Winx Club. Layla and Musa were both tempted on taking him down and kicking him hard in a certain place, where most guys hate to kicked and would hurt like hell if it was bruised. Stella made a suggestion of using a locator spell to find him, then when he's found, they could combine their powers and reduce him to ashes.

The other smiled smugly at the suggestion, thinking it was brilliant. But Flora refused to do so. She had only met him once in real life and again in a vision that was caused by the flower, which was plenty more than enough appearances from him she could last a life time. She didn't want her friends to find him. Though she wasn't sure exactly what kind of powers he possessed, it was more than obvious he had magic within him. Magic that was dark. She didn't want anyone she knew to get hurt.

Tecna, who saw the fear in Flora's eyes, asked calmly "This mark you said you saw in the vision and the same one he burned on your hand, do you happen to have a picture of it?"

Flora almost shook her head, but then quickly remembered about the sketch Helia did for her in the forest. She couldn't believe she almost forgot about that. She got up from the floor, left the room for a moment and ran into hers, and searched all over for the skirt she wore this afternoon. She knew she either put the picture there or in her purse, but was more convinced she put it in her skirt pocket. She finally found her skirt, buried in the drawers underneath a few shirts, and dug through the pockets, only to discover the picture wasn't in there.

Slightly frustrated, she tossed the skirt aside and grabbed her purse, digging through the contents of her bad until she finally found what she was looking for. She grabbed the sketch, quickly ran back to Stella's room where the others were waiting patiently for her, and handed it over to Tecna.

With her eyes narrowed into slits, Tecna thoroughly examined the strange marking, turning it upside down and then sideways. It was definitely a strange drawing. She has seen so many different symbols and marks that stood for different meanings and learned about them through books and online. But never has she come across such a drawing quite like this one. So whatever it was, it wasn't from here. It probably wasn't even from this dimension.

She told this to her friends and watched their hopeful faces fell into darkened grimaces. Flora's grim was the biggest out of all, since she was hoping Tecna held some information on the mark. Only Tecna wasn't able to get up too easily. She went over to Stella's computer and used both that and her PDA data base to run searches on the magical realms, trying to see if maybe there was an online link she skipped that could tell them something.

But after looking and searching up different links, Tecna sighed heavily in frustration when she unfortunately wrong about the mark. She searched and searched over dozens of time and tried hundreds of different links, but was still unsuccessful to find any information on the mark. Which meant it wasn't only not from this dimension, it wasn't from any other dimension at all.

"Maybe Ms. Faragonda knows something about it," Bloom said, after minutes of somber silence passed. She smiled encouragingly at her friends, who looked at her questioningly. "Sometimes the Internet can leave out some information, and Ms. Faragonda knows practically everything there is to know about magic."

Stella peeked over Tecna's shoulder and took a glance at the drawing, wrinkling her nose in disgust. She didn't what to think about what sick things this weird symbol did to Flora, but looking at it right now was making her skin crawl like nuisance lice were crawling on her skin. "The thing is seriously evil. I can totally feel it. It's like my sun powers are getting from telepathic readings from it." She turned to Tecna and made a suggestion. "And if Ms. F doesn't know anything either, then there's always the library. And also there's always Miss Griffin from Cloud tower, who knows everything dark and evil."

"That's a great idea, Stella." Layla praised, making a bright beam lit up Stella's face.

"Stella's right. I say tomorrow morning we go to the library. With all those books and scrolls they have there, we're bound to find something that can help us." Bloom said.

Instantly the beam on Stella's face turn into a sour grim, like she tasted foul milk. Whens she said they should go to the library, she meant something like going to it on...next Thursday, Monday at least. Sure, she was all for helping Flora finding out more about the sinister-looking mark, but the thought of spending all Sunday looking through mucky old books and reading ancient scrolls was more than enough to put her to sleep. It would be a complete drag for them to be wasting Sunday morning being tied up at the library and looking up research when they should be at the mall, scoring some major sales and trying on hot outfits.

Musa still noticed the uncertainty in Flora's face, which meant she was still shaken a bit after what happened and wasn't too convinced their research could do anything to help her. She wrapped one arm around her shoulder, bringing Flora closer to her, and smiled encouragingly, saying "Don't sweat it, Flo. Everything is going to be okay."

Layla then hopped on her feet and stood on top of Stella's bed, standing tall and proud while throwing some kicks and punches left and right, looking like she was more than ready to fight. "And if that creep comes within a hundred feet of you, I'm going to give him a good kick in the face." she said, swinging her right foot high and pretending she was kicked him on the chin. But her foot was thrown off too high, swinging over her head, and then her other foot decided to give out on her, making her lose her balance and fell back on the bed.

For the first time after a long while, they hesitantly giggled a bit until they finally relaxed and let out real, comfortable laughter.

The sleepover went on, with some hesitation and awkwardness throw into a few moments, but still Flora was slowly beginning to relax. She was put the memory of what happened to her in the back of her mind, trying to enjoy herself and have some fun with her friends. And with the help from her friends, she was able to make it happen. She pigged out with them with the pizzas and food-buffet they supplied for the party, knowing the next morning they're all going to regret all the junk food they ate, laughed and cried at some movies, crying the most of a tragic romance movie where the two main characters die just to be with each other as an act of forbidden love, and nearly laughed her guts out with Bloom and Musa as Tecna and Layla casted a makeover spell on Stella that turned her golden, blond hair into a spiked-out, blown-up, dark purple and bright green edgy rocker style and had bright colored makeup splashed on her face, which made her look so ridiculous and hilarious. And they all laughed even harder when they heard the high-pitched shrieking screaming coming from Stella, as she looked at her reflection in the mirror and was close to fainting.

Dark purple and green were such a nasty combination together, they should be considered a clash. Her poor hair was going to get over a hundred washes as soon as the spell was reversed, though she wasn't sure her skin tone would recover from this awful makeover. She turned to Tecna and Layla, steaming in anger and looked as if she was seconds away from exploding. "You two better hope this spell can be reversed, otherwise you'll be dealing with sun blasts burning your asses!" Stella threatened, chasing after the two girls, who had the very nerve to laugh at her unfortunate makeover. Beams of bright sun-fire were being blasted from her finger tips, and the girls laughed and ran as they were trying to avoid getting hit.

The others, who were still safe from Stella's wrath, sat safely on her bed and laughed hard as they watched the catch continuing from room to room, hearing Stella's bold exclamations and Tecna and Layla's laughter that was mixed with their squealing, and listening to the sounds of Stella's sun powers blasting practically everything in the dorm room expect for Layla and Tecna.

Flora was starting to have fun all over again. She was really glad she told her friends, even though it didn't completely make her worries go away, and it helped take a few pounds off the heavy lifts weighing on her shoulders. And maybe they were right, too, about the research. The Internet wasn't always right and sometimes leaves out some information, but maybe they could find something about the sinister 'S' in the school library, which was flooding with millions of books and scrolls on every magical subject, magical history, and every magic in each dimension. They were sure to find something.

At least, that was all she could hope for. She hope they can find out more about the strange mark, and also hope things will be okay.

"Everything is going to be okay. Everything will going be okay." She muttered to herself as she laid flat on her back in her sleeping bag. Her jaded eyes stared blankly up at the ceiling, while her head was lost in a hurricane of her thoughts. All around her, the others were fast asleep in their sleeping bags, with their pixies snuggled on their heads, and looked peaceful in their sleep.

It was already morning, and there was another hour or two left before the sun starts to rise. But she was unable to sleep and felt more restless, as if the more she tried to sleep the more awake she felt. Flora turned to her left side and glared at the clock, which readied it was thirty minutes after three. She then hesitantly brought her left hand close to her face and checked again for anything suspicious.

Her left hand looked like it was the same as usual: tan, and felt smooth and soft to the touch. Just as she suspected it to look it, as she ran her fingers against it. Her hand seemed fine and normal, not giving any indication there was ever a symbol blazed on it. But beneath the surface, she could still feel the fearsome dark aura from the mark that was still pulsing strongly in her very veins.

"It's all over, Flora. Everything will be okay. It's all over now." She assured herself, whispering the words in soothing murmur she often used on her friends whenever they needed something to calm them down. The words were so soft, they were inaudible but as long as she knew what she was murmuring to herself, then that was all that matters.

Soon the feeling of drowsiness began weakening her body, making her feel exhausted and weary. Her eyes suddenly became heavy, and she was finding it hard to keep them open. After blinking them for several seconds, her breathing was becoming soft and deep, and soon she allowed the spell of sweet sleep consume her, drifting away and was lost in the sea of unconsciousness.

What none of the girls knew was that something-or rather a certain someone-was keeping a close eye on them, especially taking tads of the breathtaking, green-eyed brunette, who was the last one to finally fall asleep. He was studying them from his location at a thick branch of the tall, pine tree in the forest near the school, which was a few feet away from the window in Stella's room. His dark eyes had the same night vision as an owl and his hearing was twice as good as a hawk, so he was able to heard and see glances of the slumber party. The tree branches were his camouflage, doing a marvelous job hiding him from sight. Holding onto another branch standing over his hand, he took steady steps closer to the edge, taking a closer peek at her.

She looked so beautiful and innocent, with her silkily camel hair fanned around her face and her beautiful face looking at peace as she was in deep slumber. Near her side was a small little pixie with long, dark blond hair in pigtails and dressed in what to be a green cheerleader outfit, snuggling up her like she was her big teddy bear.

Slowly a eerie smile spread across his face, a haunting smile you'd expected to see from a ghost, as he looked at her. _So now you know how I really feel about you_, he thought, recalling how the other small pixie's rose was somehow able to look into his heart and see the unbearably yearning affections he feels for her. Though the pixie couldn't see his face, she was able to the minute she touched the petal. He knew she saw his face, and was thrilled and amused to see the fear in her eyes, to the sound of her scream that was loud enough to be easily heard from his distance, as she pulled away. It was all so fun and amusing, he almost didn't want this game to end. But looking at her now, the dark amusement he was relishing in quickly emerged into deep longing and intensity, causing sudden urges he hasn't felt practically forever came alive within and were crying out to her. Wanting nothing more than to caress her soft skin, and have her forever and forever. He remembered the incredibly, baby-soft texture of her skin when he pulled her hand into his, caressing it ever so gently, while implanting the vision into her head and saw the fear and astonishment in her jaded-green eye. It was so pleasurable and wonderful.

Who would have thought that after all these years, his feelings for her would be one hundred times stronger than before. But then again, he has never had such strong feelings for another person. Never had a care or feeling for anyone, not even for his own family whom he saw as only insignificant acquaintances. As people not even worth his time.

But she was a different story.

His lust for her was unlimited, yearn for her was unbearable for him to even handle anymore. He wanted only one thing from her: a soft kiss from her heavenly lips. He longed forever to kiss those perfect lips of hers, longed to feel those mind-blowing astonishment he dreamt about so many times before when he was finally gained access to taste the incredible sweetness of her tongue. That was all he ever wanted. And looking at her, his strong cravings for her was increasing each second by second. Maybe he could make that dream become a reality.

But a hard, mental slap in the face snapped him out from his reverie thoughts and brought him back to his senses. Business before pleasure, he reminded himself, becoming more somber and focused on his goal and mission.

The fateful day was getting closer and closer. the long waited weeks turning into days. Time was finally beginning to go fast. He has waited long for this day to finally arrive, and it was finally coming. And the one who was the key of making the fate become a reality was only a few feet away.

True, as time went on and he impatiently waited for her, he has found four other descendants who came close to the resemblance and tried to see if they were really her. Only later would the dreadful taste of disappointment set in when he discovered none of them were her as he checked their birth dates and saw they were entirely different dates, tried seeing if the mark would show on them, which never appeared, and noticed in their looks they were distinct differences that set them apart. But now, more than anything, he knew the girl was definitely her. The resemblance was unbelievably remarkable, the birth date was exact, and the birthmark was finally shown on her hand. And the fact that she saw the vision, a flashback, in her mind as he touched her, was the assurance he needed to know she was definitely her.

After so many years of impatient frustration caused by waiting, she was finally here.

It baffled him so much how she was completely unaware of the glorious destiny that awaited her. How his abilities were petty and minor as the magic of small pixies compared to what she could really do. The glorious power welled deep within her, just waiting to be unleash and show the entire universe it what could do.

"Unfortunately for you, my dear, the worst has yet to come. This is only the beginning." Soon the fateful day shall be here, and no force no matter how good or strong their allies might be will be able to stop it from happening.

He then vanished, disappearing as a cool breeze flow in the air and left silently like a ghost.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day, later that same morning, Flora woke up tiredly, still feeling buzzed from the sleepover and waking up confused from the weird dream she was having. In her dream, she was in a bright white room, which was so bright it blinded her, and was enormously huge with no windows, doors, or even walls. The space was so massive and huge, for a moment she doubted she was even in a room. But what was most confusing to her was she remembered being in the forest and laying flat on her back on the grass. Only something didn't feel right.

The trees, the plants and flowers, and even the grass all felt wrong. Their appearance seemed to be normal as usual, but the voice of nature told her not to let looks be so deceiving. That inside they were frozen and lifeless.

She wanted to investigate that herself. She got up from the grass, walked over the nearest tree, which was an oak tree, and hesitantly pressed her hand against the bark to get a sense from it. But the moment she touched the tree, something started to happen and the forest was changing.

Her nose could pick up the whiff of smoke coming fast her way, heading straight for the forest. And over head, she could see black and red flames coming right toward her. Regardless of her own safety, her only concern was to protect the forest. She lifted her hands over her head and used her powers to create an ivy shield big enough and strong enough to protect the forest from the flames, with strong ivy vines raising underneath the ground and formed a protected shield around the trees. She hoped this was enough to protect nature.

But as the flames made their appearance, they pounded hard against the barrier, trying to break inside. Flora used everything she had to pour more energy into the shield, trying to make it strong enough to protect the forest. She could feel her powers being drained and the energy in her body being sucked out from her, but she still couldn't give up. She couldn't abandon the trees. But she also couldn't hold it up any longer. She could feel her arms quickly becoming numb, and felt her shield weakening from the numbness.

Her arms dropped to the sides, and she fell on her knees, feeling defeated and ashamed of herself for being so weak. The flames were hurling themselves against the shield, already making its way through the cracks. It wasn't long before they completely made their way through and engulfed the entire forest in flames. But the fire didn't char the trees; it seemed to be doing something else.

It was sucking their life energy from them, leaving the poor things weak and lifeless. The poor plants were stolen of its beauty, the richness of the green grass was morphed into a dull gray color, and the poor trees were being killed by the essences stolen from them.

Finally the flames retreated and the wind blew an eerie chill in the air, adding more chill to the haunting sight. Flora looked around as she slowly got back on her feet, dumbfounded and speechless by the sight. Her forest, her beautifully beloved forest was reduced to a grim cemetery. Everything was dead and bland, and the poor trees and plants that were barely hanging onto their lives were crying out for her to help them, crying in pain to fix this disaster.

She screamed loud at the top of her lungs, utterly horrified, and covered her ears with her hands to block out the dreadful sounds of poor nature crying. This was all so sickening and horrible, and affected her gravely. Nature's pain was becoming her own pain, and grief and guilt were buried deep in the pit of her stomach, making her feel even sicker. All of this was all her fault; she should have used more of her powers to create a stronger shield. Should have used stronger defenses to beat out the flames. And above all, shouldn't have given up on trying and fall in defeat. It was because of her acting weak the forest was lifeless. The sight was too much for her to handle on her own.

More than anything she wanted to escape this terrible dream, or at least be anywhere else but here.

She closed her eyes for the longest time and took quiet breaths, still able to hear the pained cries of nature through her ears. She thought a restoration spell might be able to do the trick to save the forest, but when she was opened her eyes she was left astonished. It looked like her wish came true; the cries were thousands of miles away, and she was no longer in the forest. She was all alone in the bright white room where the space was so wide and unlimited, so quiet she could hear her own breathing.

But even though, she was alone she could feel another presence with her. A shadow lurking around and watching her every movement. But before she could find out anything else, that was when she woken up.

Flora sighed as she rolled onto her stomach and combed her hair with her hand. She couldn't tell if the dream was truly a nightmare or just disturbing. Seeing the forest so dull and lifeless, drained of its' energy and beauty, definitely was beyond disturbing to her as she reflected on the pained cries of nature calling out for her help. But when she was transported into that strange white room, her disturbed fear turn into confusion as she looked around the room and saw nothing else there expect for herself. She couldn't recall ever being so alone than she did in her dream.

There was no sound, movement, and no other person. She never wanted to feel that isolation ever again.

The rest of the girls and pixies were still asleep in their sleeping bags, except for one. Flora saw an abandoned red sleeping bag, with musical notes splashed all over it that contained a sleeping Tune cuddled on the pillow. Musa probably was already up and taking her morning shower. There wasn't a doubt in her mind Musa felt exhausted from sleeping late and nausea from the all junk food they've eaten.

Music being was heard from across the room, and she had a pretty good idea who was behind it. She could hear a melody being beautifully played on a piano in a certain key until it stopped for some reason and everything was completely quiet, expect for the soft snores of the remaining sleepy girls, and then the music would start where it left off and continue playing.

Stretching out her tired arms and legs, Flora got out of bed, feeling a bit light-headed from the sudden movement, and went over to the dorm room across the hall, which was Musa's dorm she shared with Tecna and Layla. Flora opened the door and could see again how the three roommates/friends have their differences of decorating. The room contained three twin-size beds, a closet big enough to fix the wardrobe of three girls, two large desks with drawer cabinets, and shelves for extra stuff, but also was a blended combination of the different tastes the girls liked: latest technology and music. The left side of the room was filled with Tecna's latest computers and gadgets, some machines she made herself, and her bed was already made and spotless. The right side-Musa's side-was influenced by music taste with posters of popular and famous musicians pasted on the wall, several musical instruments from a dark purple electric guitar and bass to bongo drums stored inside a glass-cased container shelves Riven built for her, and a huge, amazing collection of CDs, her prized possession, adorned on the wall in a flowing musical pattern. But unlike Tecna's neatly-made bed, Musa's was the exact opposite. Clothes and CDs were scattered all over the bed, crumpled up songs lyrics thrown on the pillow with the blue flannel blanket draping off the bed and was practically kissing the ground, and from her distance Flora could see Musa's headphones hanging on the bedpost. Layla's side was by the far corner, a balance in between the two other girls. She was the true sporty girl, so there was sport balls from basketball to football laying on the floor and posters of both athletes and stars covering her walls, a huge stereo radio sitting on her desk along with her computer she got as a gift from her parents with small collection of her favorite CDs, which was mostly dance music since, just like Musa, she loved to dance and was amazing, and as far as messy and neat came, she was somewhat in the middle. Her area was neat and nearly spotless like Tecna, but her bed was creaming messy with trash still on it and still unmade.

Flora opened the door a bit wider and stepped inside, caution of her steps so she wouldn't make a sound. Musa was sitting on the stool seat in front of her beloved piano, which was a birthday present from her aunt who saved the best piano in her music shop for her niece. She was still dressed in her candy red stripe tank top and red sweat pants, and her long midnight-blue hair held up in a sloppy bun.

Musa was using her magic to levitate a music sheet in front of her while she focused her attention on the playing the piano. Flora watched in fascination, and also amazement, Musa closing her eyes and started to play a practice skill, then started over again and began playing a beautiful melody. It was amazing to see her play without the need of looking down at the piano keys or her music sheet. But then again, she really didn't need to. She was the fairy of music, came from a planet where music was everywhere and everything, and her mother was a magnificent singer and father had over a dozen top-seller albums that went up the chart. Music was in her blood, a huge part of who she was, and practically her whole life. It was an impossibly strong connection that pulls her toward it, the same connection Flora felt with nature.

Soon after playing the beautiful melody without stopping like she had done earlier, Musa opened her mouth, a smile lifting up the corners of her lips, and sang in an unbelievably amazing voice that sounded so beautiful to listen to.

_We're driving slow through the snow on 5__th__ Avenue  
And right now radio's all that we can hear  
Now we ain't talked since we left, it's so overdue  
It's cold outside but between us it's worse in here_Flora couldn't resist moving to the soft beat of the music, swaying her hips right to left and hummed while Musa sang and played on the piano. But then Musa stopped singing when she heard someone humming. Her playing then came to a halt, and she turned to the doorway where Flora stood, looking slightly embarrassed she got caught. Flora wasn't sure what to do for a moment when she saw the flat expression on Musa's face, but was soon relaxed when she saw a smile and specks of smugness in the musical fairy's eyes.

The world slows down  
But my heart beats fast right now  
I know this is the part  
Where the end starts

I can't take it any longer  
Thought that we were stronger  
All we do is linger  
Slipping through my fingers

I don't wanna try now  
All that's left goodbye to  
Find a way that I can tell you

I hate this part right here  
I hate this part right here  
I just can't take your tears  
I hate this part right here

"Isn't it a bit early for you to be up?" Musa asked, getting off her seat and pulled up another chair. She sat back down on her stool and patted the other chair for Flora to take as an invitation to have a seat.

Flora walked over, but also applauded for the sample performance Musa demonstrated before she sat down. "That was a really good song."

Musa smiled gratefully, glad she like it even though it wasn't exactly finished yet. "I had a dream last night about us traveling in a deserted, desert-like highway in a red car. But soon the car is out of gas and we're stranded. We each just walked around, looking for anything that could help us. And then I just saw myself sitting at a grand black piano playing this exact melody. It was so perfect I had to figure out how to do it in reality."

"Well, judging by how awesome it already sounds, seems like you not only got down the beat but also added lyrics. It's really cool, Musa, how the music just comes to you and you're already creating it like that." Flora said, snapping her fingers.

"Maybe cool, but sometimes can a burden when you can't think of anything else to add to the song or make improvements." Musa added. "I've been sitting in this stool for almost an hour now, which by the way is killing my ass, and have been writing, erasing, and rewriting the lyrics practically forever now." She pointed at the pile of crumpled papers sitting on her pillow to the half-finished lyrics levitating in front of them. "Believe me when I say, Flo, writing songs is never easy. I was finally able to pick out the perfect melody, but need to work on the lyrics. Which is sadly to report is easier said than done." She sighed heavily as she crossed her arms against her chest, and leaned on Flora's shoulder, putting on a playful pout. "It's all so difficult. I feel like I'll never have it finished."

Flora giggled at her friend's overly dramatic silliness, and gave her a light shove that pushed Musa off her shoulder. She then glanced down at the floor and saw another crumpled piece of paper sitting near her left foot. Feeling a strong instinct that it could be helpful to Musa's benefit, she picked up the paper, smoothing it out as best as she could, and readied it over. She noticed they weren't the same as the beginning and didn't have the chorus, but when she mouthed the words she thought it still sounded good. She showed it to Musa, who arched her eyebrow in confusion as she glanced down at the paper and looked back up at Flora. "Maybe you could add this to the song," she said.

Musa readied over the crumpled paper and looked over at the sheet music, her dark blue eyes darting back and forth as she studied them both while biting her bottom lip. The more she readied over them, the more the smile she cracked on her face began to spread until it was a full grin. Flora was absolutely brilliant; the lyrics sounded perfectly together and could form a really great song. She linked her fingers, turned them around, and cracked them together; making a crunching sound Flora couldn't help but wince to. She decided to start from the beginning and sang.

_We're driving slow through the snow on 5__th__ Avenue  
And right now radio's all that we can hear  
Now we ain't talked since we left, it's so overdue  
It's cold outside but between us it's worse in here__nothing's__ wrong  
But there is no more time for lies  
'Cause I see sunset in your eyes_

The world slows down  
But my heart beats fast right now  
I know this is the part  
Where the end starts

I can't take it any longer  
Thought that we were stronger  
All we do is linger  
Slipping through my fingers

I don't wanna try now  
All that's left goodbye to  
Find a way that I can tell you

I hate this part right here  
I hate this part right here  
I just can't take your tears  
I hate this part right here

Everyday, seven takes of the same old scene  
Seems we're bound by the laws of the same routine  
Gotta talk to you now 'fore we go to sleep  
But will we sleep once I tell you what's hurting me?

The world slows down  
But my heart beats fast right now  
I know this is the part  
Where the end starts

I can't take it any longer  
Thought that we were stronger  
All we do is linger  
Slipping through our fingers

I don't wanna try now  
All that's left goodbye to  
Find a way that I can tell you

I hate this part right here  
I hate this part right here  
I just can't take your tears  
I hate this part right here

I know you'll ask me to hold on  
And carry on like

I can't take it any longer  
Thought that we were stronger  
All we do is linger  
Slipping through our fingers

I don't wanna try now  
All that's left goodbye to  
Find a way that I can tell you

That I gotta do it  
I gotta do it  
I gotta do it  
I hate this part

I gotta do it  
I gotta do it  
I gotta do it, oh

I hate this part right here  
I hate this part right here  
I just can't take these tears  
I hate this part right here

Musa's singing became lower and saddened, as if she was singing this to the person who was being torn apart by her words, and the singing became faded till there was nothing being played left except for the melody, which also faded as well. When the song was finally done, both she and Flora were silent for a moment while they were seated next each other and looked down at the piano. The silence lasted, with the melody and vibe of the song still lingering in the air, until it was finally broken by Musa, who sighed quietly and turned to Flora, who turned to meet her eyes, asking "What do you think? And please be honest."

Words didn't seem enough to describe the amazement of the song, so Flora decided applauding and a beam would be worth a thousand words and adjectives. "That was amazing, Musa. I totally loved it." she announced proudly.

"We also think so, too," Flora and Musa turned their heads to the doorway where Bloom, Stella, and Tecna, and Layla stood. They were also dressed in their nightwear, their bed hair anything but lovely and glamorous, and each one had tiredness in her eyes and still exhausted. Tecna let out a loud, extremely tired yawn and walked inside the dorm room, with the others following behind her, and took a seat at her bed. Even half-awake and half-sleepy, she still refused to lay on Musa's mess of bed or Layla, though the messy bed seemed to be tamer. She couldn't stand sloppy and messes, but Musa and Layla were an exception. "We were happily sleeping till we heard some music being played. And since it sounded so good, we finally decided to get our butts up and see it for yourselves." she said, stretching out her tired arms while yawning again.

Stella half-snorted and half-laughed while she gave Tecna a firm shove, pushing her down on her bed. Tecna was tempted to shove Stella back, but was still too tired and just laid on her bed. Stella scooted her legs to make some room and sat down on the bed with her. "She's only telling half the truth. She moaned and groaned, ever so tiredly, when she heard the music and begged someone to put a mute button on."

Layla chuckled while shaking her head, earning herself a hard glare from Stella. "No offense, Stel, but you weren't exactly morning sunshine yourself. In fact, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't we have to wrangle out of bed and nearly carried you over here?" She said, remembering how much of an irritated hissy fit fight Stella put up when the others tried to pull her away from her pillow. Layla nearly lost two fingers in that battle.

The others laughed hard while Stella huffed and crossed her arms against her chest, wore a flat expression on her face, and decided to let them have their laugh and fun. Usually she would have defended herself, but decided against that since she knew it would only make her friends laugh even harder. She waited until the laughter died and the girls were able to have some control over themselves to start speaking. "I may be the fairy of the sun and moon, but that doesn't mean I like waking up early. Especially after sleeping so late and eating all that candy and junk food last night."

Bloom groaned as she felt sickening churning in her upset stomach and was reminded of all the soda and candy she swallowed down her throat. Now it looks like her stomach decided to treat her a lesson by giving her morning stomach nausea ramps. "Please don't even talk about food!" She pleaded. "I overdid it with the gummy bears and Hershey kisses, and now my stomach decided to severely punish me."

"Come on, guys," Layla said, not wanting to spend her Sunday hearing about stomach aches and tired moans. True, her stomach was queasy from all the food she scoffed down, but she wasn't going to let that ruin her remaining weekend fun. "Stop worrying about your stomachs and let's think about what we're going to do today."

"Layla's right." Musa nodded, and then looked at the others. "So what's on the agenda for today?"

Bloom took a glance at Flora and remembered about the plans they made to do some research on the strange symbol at the school's library since Tecna couldn't find anything on it on the web. "What about our plans to go to the library and so some research?"

Stella rolled her eyes and dismissed the question with a wave of her hand. Bloom frowned, irritated, and opened her mouth to say something, but then Stella quickly cut her off and said while twirling a strand of her blond hair around her finger. "Look, I'm all for helping Flora. Really I am. But don't forget today is Sunday and Red fountain is having their annual jousting tournament and dance, remember?"

That's right; they did almost forget about that. Ms. Faragonda announced at school assembly last Friday morning Red Fountain, school of heroics and bravery, was throwing their annual jousting tournament, which was to celebrate the finding of the school over hundreds of years ago, where they face off each other and other students from rivaling schools, showing off their amazing skills, completed with sword duels and dragon fighting. And right after the tournament was the rocking dance they throw at the quad, where there's be awesome music and dancing, and Musa will also give an amazing performance like she usually does at the dances and concerts.

Stella smirked as she watched confusion changed into forgetful remembrance in their eyes, which meant they all have forgotten all about it and probably would have faced the wrath of their disappointed boyfriends unless she had reminded them. She might be known as the blubber mouth, but only heavens know where the girls would be without her half the time. "My point exactly," she said. "We promised the guys we would go, and I, for one, don't intend on missing my honey-bear, Brandon, showing off his fighting skills."

"Stella's right, girls." The girls looked surprised by the unexpected comment coming from Flora, considering she was freaked out yesterday by what had happened to her and was the one who mostly wanted to know more about the symbol. Flora was even surprised herself by her words, but was sticking to them. Despite the fact she was interested to know more the symbol that was blazed onto her hand, with everything being a nightmare and disaster yesterday, she only wanted her Sunday to be carefree and fun. She wanted to hang out with her friends, laugh and go shopping, even if that meant going on a nonstop shopping marathon with Stella, and enjoy herself. Like Layla, she was also determined not to let anything ruin her Sunday.

"But are you sure, Flora?" Tecna asked, rubbing her eyes tiredly and letting out another long yawn. She mustered all the strength she had through her weary tiredness and pulled herself up to a sitting position. "Because we could at least take an hour or two to do some research at the library? I'm pretty sure the librarian already opened it."

Flora shot her a grateful look and then smiled at her best friends. But still she shook her head at the offer and said "Tecna, I already worried you guys enough with all this symbol stuff. For all we know, we might have nothing to worry about."

Layla frowned at what she just heard, shaking her head and protesting "Flora, that symbol is finding out more about this mystery guy. We can all tell it really scared you. Even though you tried to convince us nothing was wrong, we saw that fear in your eyes. You're our friend, and when something is bugging you, then you can bet on your life that we'll make it our concern."

"I know, I know. But I just want to have fun for today." She firmly pleaded, wishing this was the end of the subject and they could talk about something else less serious." Flora turned to Stella and asked "You have any ideas what we should do before the RF celebration, Stella?"

It was impossible for the girls not to notice the gleaming excitement sparkling in Stella's golden eyes, which was clear to them she was loaded with ideas and doubtlessly has the whole day planned out. "Why darling, of course!" She exclaimed, delighted. "Fortunately for you, girls, I didn't forget about the event at RF and made appointments for us today at the Soothing R&R for the perfect spa day-"

"Wait a minute, Stel," Musa interrupted. "Isn't that place like totally exclusive and crazy impossible to get into it without an appointment?" Musa wasn't all that girly like Stella and only goes to spas and salons on for very special occasions, but she read enough teen magazines and heard enough gossip from the other students to know Soothing R&R was a recently new spa that quickly became a best-known place for girls to have complete relaxation. But the place was so good and soothing, it was mission impossible for someone to walk in for a spa treatment when it was filled with people and had incredibly long lines outside the spa, with people waiting all morning till night for a soothing spa relaxation. Word around Magix was it was always so busy that if a girl wanted to make an appointment today at the Soothing R&R, then she would have to wait almost twenty months for her spa day.

Stella surprised her by beaming brightly, saying proudly with some smugness in her tone, "It is, but luckily and thankfully my mom has a childhood friend who's the manger of the place and was able to squeeze in four hours of total relaxation for us. And trust me, girls, we're going to have so much fun. Manicures, pedicures, mud baths, massages, perms and wash-outs, body services. The after that, we're going a nonstop shopping spree, going from store to store, and hunting down the perfect outfits to wear for tonight."

"Sounds like fun." Flora smiled.

"Oh, it is and will be. But first, we've got to get ready and change." Stella said.

The girls took their turns getting ready, changing into clean clothes, taking quick showers, and brushed their teeth. When they were finally all done, they left the dorm rooms and had gone through many halls and staircases till they were finally outside and ready to leave the school.

"Oh, there you girls are!"

The Winx girls stayed frozen in their tracks when they heard someone calling them. They all turned around to see the head mistress, Ms. Faragonda, heading toward them, but saw she wasn't alone. Trailing behind Ms. Faragonda was an older woman, who was a few inches shorter than her and looked to be in her late sixties. She was petite and seemed almost fragile, but the light in her eyes stated she wasn't. She had tan, smooth skin with no wrinkles or ceases showing her age, very pretty golden eyes glistening with so much intelligence and wisdom within them, and silvery white-not gray-long hair piled on top of her head in a bun. She wore blue speckles glasses which were close to slipping off the tip of her nose, and was dressed in a dark blue hooded cloak, despite the beautiful weather today, and pulled the hood over her head, covering her pretty hair.

"There you are." said the head mistress, with a smile brightening her face. "There's a special someone I like you to meet that I'll be introducing to the other students as well." She gestured her hand toward the woman standing beside her. "This is Nathalie Shine, who also comes your home planet, Stella, and is part of a royal family who used to be the rulers of Solaria a long time ago, but is currently still a member of the royal court. Her source of power comes from sun."

"It's true, though she fails to mentions my family ruled a _very_, very long time ago when I was still much younger, but is still a member of the Royal court. My late elder sister had the power of moon, and together we were a powerful, unbeatable force." The woman known as Nathalie said in a very soft, gentle voice, and wore a smile on her face and her eyes held friendly warmth as she shook hands with Stella, who did a small curtsy. "It's a quite an honor to meet the current, incredibly beautiful princess of my home planet. But then again, it's a huge honor to meet the famous Winx Club who were victorious against the Trix Witches, and valiant in the destruction of Lord Darkar and Baltor."

She shot quick smiles at the girls, who were lightly blushing and smiling sheepishly by the woman's kind, flattering compliment about their past victories against evil.

"Why, thank you so much, Ms. Shine." Stella smiled.

"Please call me Nathalie. I know I may not be as young as I use to be, but calling me Ms. Shine makes me feel even older." She insisted.

"Okay...Nathalie," Stella said, giggling a bit. "Forgive me for saying this, but I really don't remember seeing you around the Royal Court or even in Solaria, and I've met practically everyone there."

Ms. Faragonda decided to do the explaining for Nathalie, telling her students "That's because she's been too traveling all over the magical realms and has been working and studying enchantments and spells at a holy temple with Cloud Spirits. She's a very excellent teacher who knows plenty about spells and ways to help you girls connect even more to your Winx."

"Very cool." Bloom said, making the smile on Nathalie's face widen more and grow warmer. "Since we're introducing ourselves, I'm Bloom."

"Keeper of the Dragon Fire, the princess and last remaining heir to the throne of Sparks, and comes from planet Earth." Seeing the slight stunned look in Bloom's eyes made Nathalie's gold eyes swirl in wisdom and amusement. "I heard very good things about you from Ms. Faragonda."

"My name is Layla." Layla says.

"Very daring and athletic. The princess of Tides and soon to be the guardian fairy of Morphix and all things water." Nathalie said.

"I'm Musa." Musa warmly greeted, shaking hands with her.

"A very talented musical student, who has the power of music and will soon be the guardian fairy of music. I have seen your mother perform a few times in your home planet, Melody, and I can't even begin to tell you how marvelous I thought she was. But we can all see she passed on her musical talent to her daughter."

"My name is Tecna." Tecna introduced herself next.

"A very bright, intelligent student who comes from the planet, Zenith, who will soon become the fairy guardian of technology."

"Hi, I'm Flora. It's so nice to meet you, Nathalie." Flora smiled sweetly, sticking out her hand and waiting for Nathalie to give a firm shake to it.

But Nathalie's hand never came near hers, and both her hands were instead placed firmly by her sides. Her reaction to Flora was dramatically different than her attitude toward the other girls. Unlike before when she was warm and friendly toward Flora's friends, smiling brightly with warmth in her eyes, Nathalie stood frozen like a statue as she turned to Flora. Her fairly tan face was drained of its' color and reduced to ash white and the expression on her face was bewildered, the warmth in her eyes quickly converted to panicked unsettling and shock, staring at Flora as if she was a nightmare from the past who has come back to haunt her. Through the shock and panicky in her eyes, there was another emotion blazing wildly. Cold, dark, fearsome, outraged.

"By the great stars of the moons!" Nathalie finally said an in soft, practically inaudible murmur after standing frozen for a few moments, completely speechless. She eyed Flora critically from toe-to-head and head-to-toe, her disturbing shocked eyes widening each second. "It's actually _you_!"

The girls exchanged looks with each other while Ms. Faragonda looked worriedly at Nathalie, who was too busy focusing her sharp gaze on Flora with ice-coldness chilling her eyes.

"Ms. Nathalie, are you alright? Do you need a glass of water-" Flora asked, and then stopped in mid-question when she saw the unsettling rage and coldness in her eyes.

"I don't need any help, especially if it's coming from you!" She snapped angrily, her eyes blazing mad with different emotions swirling around inside and jabbed her finger at Flora's chest, practically piercing her skin with her sharp nail. With one last chilling, hard gaze, the woman turned around and walked away.

"I'm so sorry about that, Flora. I don't know what has gotten into her." Ms. Faragonda apologized, and then went after Nathalie.

Flora stood still and watched Nathalie walking away with a disgusted scowl on her face, which seemed to be caused by her. She was shocked, upset, and also couldn't help feeling a little hurt by the way Nathalie snapped at her. It was like the minute she was warm and friendly with her friends, but suddenly became horrible and cold when she met her.

"What a bitch!" Flora turned around when she heard Stella's angry exclamation, and saw Stella had both hands on her hips and was fuming. "She may come from my planet, but most certainly doesn't give her the right to diss one of my best friends. Now, I am going to go give little Miss Snotty-pants a good kick-"

"Stella, no!" Flora grabbed hold of her arm, stopping her from doing something she knew Stella would regret doing only later. "Nathalie might be having an off day."

Tecna said "It could be possible, Flora, you remind her of someone she knew. But judging how resentful she was around you, then it's obvious that person is her least favorite person."

Bloom walked over to Stella and Flora and stood in between them, wrapped both her arms around their shoulders, and said "Let's forget about her, guys, and focus on getting to the train station and making it to the spa on time for our appointment."

While the girls left the campus and were heading to the train station, Ms. Faragonda finally caught up with Ms. Shine and cooled her down enough to lead her back into her office, where they were discussing Ms. Shine being admitted to teach at Alfea over a nice pot of steaming tea and a plate of mini pastries.

Nathalie was solemn as she poured a spoonful of sugar into her tea and stirred her spoon around and around inside the cup, watching the liquid swirl around by the motion and frowning at her reflection being showed in the brown tea. With a heavy sigh, she placed her tea cup back on the table, stood up from her chair, and walked over to the window that shown a full view of the beautiful Alfea campus. Below them, near the front gates, she could see the friends linking arms with each other as they left the campus, their happy chatter and laughter heard well from her distance. The proof of friendship was quite clear through their body language, showing how close they were to each other.

They all looked so happy to have one another's company, talking and laughing, acting like they didn't have a care in the world. The smiles, chatter and laughter, different personalities and styles, weighed heavily tolls of sorrow in Nathalie's heart. They reminded her so much of another group of friends, whom she known and deeply cared for a long time ago. Such a very long time, and yet the memory still managed to live very much alive in her heart through all these years. And for a moment, she let herself become lost in her memories and quick flashbacks replayed in her mind. Memories she felt urges to laugh at, remembering the fun and joy she experienced, while other were memories she wished she could forget and erase from her mind. Memories of a hellish nightmare that never should have happened.

Memories that featured a certain person whom she will never forget nor forgive even in death, whose resemblance was remarkable to the green-eyed nature fairy linked in the friendship group and was walking away with her friends, throwing her head back in laughter. Looking down at the fairy, a flash of the traitor's cruel smile ran quickly through Nathalie's mind like a flash of lightening and the sound of her cold, malicious laughter pounded hard against her eardrum. Tension stiffened her body, and her hands, which were gripped tightly onto the window frame, tightened their grip. Anger and the strong sense of betrayal she buried deep within her heart quickly resurfaced, the utter rage spreading fast and consumed her. Wounds she left untreated and practically forgotten were unveiled right in the open, the same very wounds she blames and damns them on a wicked, heartless witch whose treachery was beyond the unthinkable.

But when Nathalie looked down again at the nature fairy and the smile of innocence and utter kindness spread across her heart, her raging anger slowly dissolved bit by bit till it was gone and went back to its' buried grave in her heart. The only thing she felt now was shamed.

"You know, Flora is a very mature, bright, and sweet young lady. If you asked her friends and classmates, then they will tell you she's the nicest girl there is," Ms. Faragonda told her, getting up from her chair and joined Nathalie by the window.

Sighing again, Nathalie said "Please remind me to apologize to her later for my behavior. You could say anger and bad memories reared its' ugliness in my head, and then those crude words just blurted from my mouth."

Ms. Faragonda looked at Nathalie with sympathy in her eyes and placed her hand upon her left shoulder, trying to give her some comfort. "You have told me very little about the dark event that took place many years ago and told me little information on the dark

Prophecy, but I knew what was going through your mind when you saw Flora. Are you completely sure she is...?" She didn't need to finish the sentence, since the unsaid words were lingering in the air and being heard quite clearly to the both of them. "You said so yourself that there were four others in the past who came very close-"

"Close, but not close enough." Nathalie informed, interrupting. "Do not forget they were simply descendants and nothing more. But with this girl, it was something entirely different. The moment I saw her again-really saw her-jolts of cold, dark energy crawled upon my skin. It was so cold and dark; the same way they speak how death is like. And from the moment, I knew it was _her_." She closed her eyes for a moment, and watched memories of the haunting past flash through her mind, and felt moisture forming in her eyes, recalling the brave souls who lost their lives trying to save the magical realm from the hell they were currently living in. Many of those dear souls also included her beloved elder sister. "Had my sister and the others knew what spell the dark witch cast upon herself, then they would have immediately found some way to prevent it from happening."

Ms. Faragonda's heart filled with pity as she watched two tear drops escape from the woman's eyes and rolled down her cheeks. She squeezed her shoulder again in sympathy, and wanted to say something that would comfort her. But Nathalie moved her shoulder away from Ms. Faragonda's hand, not wanting to be comfort or have sympathy at the moment, and stared at the Alfea campus with a solid expression in her eyes, her face unreadable. "But you must admit as looks are concern, Flora and hers are remarkably identical. The resemblance is so extremely extraordinary; the two could easily pass as twin sisters." She tried to add some humor in the moment of silent seriousness, but didn't have the heart to do so.

But unfortunately, she was right about one thing: the girls do look too much alike. Disturbingly and exactly alike. Same lustrous camel, down to the waist, long hair, smooth tan skin, eyes the most beautiful shade of brilliant emerald green, their exact features delicate with such breathtaking innocence and beautified with incredible beauty. And will pretty soon share the same fate. It was incredibly shocking how close the resemblance was.

"Nathalie, you told me very soon we'll find out if it's really her and I've been waiting patiently. But if danger is close by and is targeting one of my students, then I need to hear the whole story, starting from the very beginning." Ms. Faragonda insisted, reaching out again for Nathalie's shoulder and giving it another firm squeeze, feeling Nathalie stiffen by the gentle gesture.

Nathalie seemed to have not have heard her, or probably did and chose to not acknowledged her words. Regardless though, she didn't make a reply and only focused her attention on Flora till she and her friends were gone from sight. She then sighed again; sounding tired, and then looked up at the determined-eyed head mistress, whose firm eyes were glaring at her. "Take a seat." she finally said, gesturing her hand at the chairs.

Ms. Faragonda did as she was told, taking a seat, and watched Nathalie sitting down across from her. Nathalie lifted a mini éclair from the pastry plate and took a small bite, then placed it right back on the plate and wiped her mouth with a napkin, and washed down the bite with a gulp of her tea.

"You could say what I'm about to tell you is one big battle story, ending with such tragic. So many innocent people and brave souls lost their lives, and the sad thing is that all of it was caused by a person who had once a kind-hearten soul. So kind, so...warm and good, that her very betrayal was heartbreaking for many and unimaginable to us all, " She stirred her tea around and around with her spoon, slightly frowning."It all began over 800 years ago..."

Meanwhile with the girls, they were bursting into laughter in the back of the bus, earning some strange and annoyed glares from the other passengers. Tecna showed them the photo of Stella after her spelled makeover with green/purple hair and dark makeup, making cracks about showing them to the guys later and what Stella's dear boyfriend, Brandon, would say after the makeover. The others laughed harder while smoke was steaming loud from Stella's ears.

"If you show any of them, especially Brandon, that picture, I swear I'll slaughter you!" Stella threatened, making the girls laugh even harder.

But the laughter was so short-lived. A powerful blow to the rear of the bus sent an explosion through the back window, showering broken glass, and the passengers were tumbling down to the front aisle and crashed hard at various places. The bus driver used his foot hard on the gas petal when the bus was hurling right for a tall building, luckily avoiding another accident.

"What the hell was that?" Layla exclaimed, using the pole to steady herself as she slowly got on her feet. Her head was throbbing by the blow she received when she was hurled against the cold metal of the seat.

"I don't know," Tecna replied, sounding a bit shaken herself. "That hit just came out of nowhere."

Groans, hisses, and bold exclamations spread around the bus from the people, who were still shaking from the crash and trying to recover from what just happened. The bus conductor, which was a middle-aged man, came out from his post, with one hands pressed against his temple that had a streak of blood running down his cheek. "Is everyone alright?" he asked, his voice shaken in fear and hissed with concern.

Before anyone could reply, another powerful blow came through the left side window in an explosion of glass. The left side was being tore apart easily as if it was paper, and in walked was black shadows, snaking around the walls and passing through areas and items which were soon quickly destroyed.

It took everything she had not to gasp out loud. Flora slowly stood up and took a small step toward them, ignoring the cries of her friends warning her to stay away. The shadows appeared more powerful than they looked, but she took notice of the fluidness as they moved like liquid, able to crawl through easily as a snake, and burning and melting everything it touched, turning the seats into ruins and the metal into scarp. And she could sense dark magic and a cold aura in them, knowing something-or someone-was controlling them.

"Everyone get out of here!" Bloom exclaimed, grabbing hold of Flora's arm, snapping Flora out of her trance, and everyone, including the bus driver himself, quickly fled from the bus-

To meet the dark eyes of strange monsters waiting for them outside. They were twice the size of a lion and had the appearance of a wolf, dark claws as sharp as nails, and black wings attached to their backs, which looked lustrous and rich as the feather of a crow and the same coloring as their deep black hardened, stiff skin. Their eyes were bright crimson, a color which caused a nausea churn in Flora's stomach since that was a particular shade she has been seeing lately since this whole nightmare messed started. The monsters snarled and growled fiercely once they saw the people and the frightened expressions on their faces, bared their fanged teeth at them with streaks of disgusting drool running down their cheeks. But then one of them turned to meet Flora's gaze, and questioning disbelief and slight remembrance, as if she was familiar to him.

"Come on, girls! Enchantix time!" Bloom declared, pumping her fist high in the air and felt her power surging through their body. The others followed her example, feeling their own power coursing through their bodies, and began to transform into their beautiful Exchantix fairy form.

Stella's Enchantix was primarily orange, representing the sun. Her orange sleeveless top has turquoise blue trimming while her skirt was made of orange and pink folds. Silver above-the-elbow translucent gloves and sprouted ample turquoise blue and pink crenellate butterfly wings with deep chrome yellow outlining. Her hair was worn loose but with pigtails that were now styled higher upon her head, and grown in length and seems to earn a few bleach-blond highlights and was brighter in contrast to her traditionally sunlight colored hair. She has also discarded her orange colored boots and dons light blue, strapped barefoot sandals connected by a sideways crescent button. She wore a turquoise colored tiara upon her head.

Bloom's Enchantix was a layered, frilly-like outfit in a primarily cyan of blue colors: turquoise, cyan, and light blue. Her wings, now ample in size, are both light yellow and pink, with a soft blue outlining and speckled with dark blue decorative jewels. Her hair has also grown several inches in length and has seemed to earn a much more tame, elegant look and style. She has yellow-orange highlights that are located at the top of her head, on her bangs and at the ends of her hair. She has also discarded her cyan colored boots and dons blue strappy, barefoot sandals that are decorated with three hearts, and wears two sets of blue, heart shaped barrettes on either side of her head.

Flora's Enchantix was high-waist, hip-length frock, primarily fuchsia, with orchid, violet, powder blue and soft green trimming, thistle, above-the-elbow translucent gloves that are decorated with various pearl colored jewels, and soft green and light yellow, ample butterfly wings with orchid outlining that are bejeweled with pear shaped and colored decorations. Her hair was styled into elegant pigtails and grows several inches longer to her ankles. She has also discarded her fuchsia colored boots and dons strappy, cyan colored, barefoot sandals, and wore a tiara upon her head.

Musa's was primarily magenta, with tangerine-yellow frilly trimming, pink, translucent above-the-elbow gloves, and light yellow, ample wings which appear rectangular with bejeweled speckles of purple and purple jewels dangling from the ends. Her skirt was a puffy and separated into diamonds with tangerine-yellow frilly trimming dangling on her left at her waist. Her hair was still kept in two pigtails, but grew a few inches longer. She has also discarded her magenta boots and dons gold strappy, barefoot sandals connected by oval buttons, and wears a thistle colored tiara upon her head.

Tecna's was mostly violet purple that contains orchid tube top with orchid shorts. On top of the tube top, there are two light blue petal-shaped ornaments connected to several more petal-shaped ornaments on the sides of her shorts. Her outfit also consists of flattering light blue translucent above-the-elbow gloves that are decorated with various violet colored jewels and orchid, light yellow and violet, ample butterfly-styled wings, now instead of a glider, with violet bejeweled outlining. Her wings have spurs/tails with spiral tips. Her hot pink short hair lengths a few inches in the back, below her neck, like a flowing fountain, earning her a sassy, tapered and sophisticated look and style. She has also discarded her powder blue colored boots and don's strappy green barefoot sandals with purple jewels, but instead of wearing tiaras like her friends do, she wore a lily-shaped, soft green colored barrette clip placed upon the left side of her head.

Layla's frilly (likely a reference to seaweed), cyan strapless top decorated with magenta and yellow, a matching skirt, and banana yellow above-the-elbow translucent gloves. Her wings are outlined with her signature lime green, decorated with pink pearls (referring to her ocean-based powers), and filled in with yellow and magenta to match her outfit. With the wings being narrow, they don't resemble butterfly wings but instead the fore wings are as if doubled and the bases of the tailed hind wings are lower. Her hair grows a few inches and gains streaks, and is braided around a cyan forehead tiara (also bearing pearls that are the color of Morphix), before flowing into pigtails. Like the other Winx Club girls, Layla has blue barefoot sandals, connected by flower-shaped buttons.

"Power of Technology!"

"Power of Music!"

"Power of Morphix!"

"Power of Nature!"

"Power of the Sun and Moon!"

"Power of the Dragon Fire!"

The creatures seemed a bit surprised, but still kept their ground. While other passengers who were on the bus with them and bystanders, who were taking a walk on the streets, quickly fled to safety, the girls held their ground as the monsters and were ready to fight.

"I'll start it off!" Stella said, flying closer to the monsters growling at her. She then closed her eyes and stretched out her arms, feeling her sun power converting its' energy into her hands and the palms containing blazing ball-like forms. "Solarian sunburst!" Bringing her two sun-powered balls together, she combined their power and released the explosion, aiming straight at the monsters. The attack was a strong spell and the sun power was hot enough to melt anything, but when it came to the monsters, the sunburst pooled around their bodies for a moment and hovered over their heads before it was quickly absorbed into their bodies, leaving Stella speechless with her mouth agape.

"That was an Enchantix sunburst, they should be gone but my spell didn't even faze them." Stella stared at the monsters in disbelief, taking note of the smugness in the monsters' eyes.

"Then this is a problem," Tecna said. "Seems we're going to need to think of strong spells, if we're going to beat them."

The ringleader of the dark creatures actually smirked at Stella, then quickly spun around and used it super long tail, adorned with steel spikes, to slap Stella extremely hard in the face. The powerful force from the swing sent her hurling against the front glassed-door of a nearby building, crashing hard against the door.

"Stella!" Tecna quickly flew to her friend's aid, landing on her feet and kneeling in front of Stella. She slowly helped her get back on feet, and her eyes quickly darted all over her body to check for any damages. "Are you alright?"

Her reply to that question was only a pained moan, as the sun fairy rubbed her throbbing head, which was still spinning from the hurl and pounding hard from the impact. Tecna was right; whatever these monsters were, they were plenty tough and clearly stronger than they looked. And ugly, too.

The fairies quickly re-grouped and decided a combination-power spell, combining all their powers into one big attack, would be the best way to finish them off. Joining hands and trying to muster all the trust they felt for one another, a great mass of energy was being transferred from the girls to the large ball in the center of their ring. It was a strong combination, and should be able to finish off the job. But before the girls could finish the enchantment, blasts of dark energy were being fired from the monsters' mouths and aimed right at the girls, hitting them hard. The impact from the blasts felt like thousands of knives were being cut right through each of their bodies and was too strong; the girls lost their grips on each others' hands and were scattered across the streets.

Flora groaned, feeling pain shooting right through her body, as she tried to sit up. The raw feeling of pain was unbearable and burned right through her, but she was forced herself to push past it and got herself into a sitting position. Her friends were scattered all around her, each one transformed right back into their regular form, knocked out unconscious and groaning in pain, while the monsters were moving closer to them. People were fleeing the streets as they screamed in horror. But Flora couldn't concentrate on the people; she was more concerned about the safety of her friends who were soon going to become lunch unless she does something-and fast.

This moment was similar to the dream she had last night, only this time she wasn't going to give up and abandoned her friends like she did with the forest.

"Enchantix ivy wrap!" As she threw her hands in the air, the ground was shaking underneath her feet, as if a quake just struck, and cracks began slashing through the ground. Luxurious yet strong ivy vines rose from the cracks where her friends were lying motionlessly, and then turned into a huge barrier, which deflected the monsters' energy blasts and remained undamaged by the multiple scratches clawed by the monsters.

They scowled, unsatisfied, and turned their attack to Flora, who was the last one standing with determination and anger blazing in her eyes. They returned her fierce glare with anger smoldering in their own eyes, and bared their sharp teeth as they surrounded her, inching in closer and closer till she could feel their hot breathes blowing warm air onto her skin.

Flora suspected they wanted her to squirm, since they apparently picked the weakest out of link, but she refused to give them the satisfaction. She clenched her fists in anger, glaring at each creature hissing at her feet and feeling more anger. They harmed her friends and innocent people, and came close to ruining her Sunday, her day where she was suppose to relax and forgot about her worries. Anger was quickly boiling like volcano lava inside, nearly a shock to her since she usually doesn't get angry but was willing to make an expectation on this case, and could feel something within her pulsing through her veins. It was a powerful jolt of power washing over her, spreading all throughout her body. She closed her eyes and accepted the feeling, letting herself becoming consumed by it.

When she slowly opened her eyes again, her vision was blackened for a moment before everything was in her vision was sharper, more efficient. The monsters took note of the her eyes, seeing the beautiful emerald green shade lose in a sea of crimson red, and immediately, with chills of fear running cold in their blood, knew _**she**_ had really returned and was right here in the moment, taking control. She folded her arms against her chest and watched them slowly back away from her, looking like scared little mice that were looking into the eyes of a deadly cobra.

She couldn't describe the emotions running through her as she watched them squirm away from her like the very cowards they were. The feelings tasted...almost sweet, but too sweet to be precise. It was suckled with a strange sweetness, but also was soured with bitterness, creating a combination of sweet and sour. This feeling was vaguely familiar to her, as if she had seen this fear glaring at her through others' eyes and experienced the better sweetness before. But she realized she didn't have time to think back to memories and start worrying about that now; they were pests right in front of her that needed to be squash.

Her lips, as if they had a sudden mind of their own, curled up. But the smile wasn't the usual one you would see on her, which promised cheerfulness, but was instead darkly smug and dry. A mockingly smirk. Feeling the familiar smile spreading across her face, quick memories of the past took over and were swarming swiftly through her mind, nearly overwhelming her. These memories, the strange vision she has seen repeatedly in her mind. How could she possibly forgotten about them?

She chuckled; despise herself, when she realized this was all _his_ doing. He was always one to be dramatic and drastic with his messages, just the way he likes things to be handled, sending the creatures as a caution he was watching her from afar and would soon make his grand appearance. She snickered darkly. "Sending messengers to do his own dirty work. Now that's not only disappointing, but also quite sad." Her voice sounded almost the same, and yet more mature and had the suckle of after-sweetness, which almost sounded too sweet and mixed with dark harsher tone, that it was considered frightening. It was nearly impossible not to notice the coldness in her sweetened voice and the twisting chill in her smile.

"Unfortunately, my pretties, I'm not in the mood nor do I have time to deal with nuisances. All of you be gone!" She unfolded her arms and thrust her hands forward. Blackened web-like vines sprouted from her fingertips, firing with tremendous power and electrifying with the combined energy of fire and lightening, and went right through all their chests, piercing them right at the heart.

Hearing the loud cries of monsters as they screamed in pain, the Winx girls slowly broke out from their unconscious trance and slowly got up into a sitting position, groaning in pain when they felt certain parts unbearably aching. But as they all turned to the direction where Flora was standing, their eyes immediately widen in shock.

Piles of black powdered dust were scattered around her feet, the place where the monsters once stood but was only left with their corpse ashes. But it wasn't the powdered remains that were shocking to them, it was Flora herself. She was still in her Enchantix fairy form, but they could all sense dark energy powering from within and seemed to be in control. Or rather, to be specific, a dark presence who had sudden control. Her lips were curled up into a smile the girls have never seen in her previous smiles; the smile was so twisted with coldness, hardened with vicious maliciousness. Her eyes were no longer emerald green and the warmth in them were completely erased, only in a dark ruby shade both so radiant-looking with its' brilliant color but also frightening at the same time with dark laughter.

"Flora?" Bloom whispered, staring at her friend in disbelief. Flora was standing two feet away from her, and yet Bloom felt her eyes were playing tricks on her.

Flora slowly took her red eyes away from the creatures' dead, dusty remains and looked up at them. A look of bewildered shock sweep across her face, her red eyes narrowed in what looked to be confusion. She looked like she didn't even recognize them, and glared harder at them; confusion in her eyes grew more and more. Finally, a light switched on in her expression and she then stared at the girls in disbelief.

"Luna?" She asked in a soft murmur, peering closely at Bloom. As she turned to the others, her eyes were nearly widened in shock. "Chelsea?" She said to Stella, and turned to Musa, Tecna, and Layla, looking more and more dumbfounded. "Melody, Titania, Lauren?"

The girls looked confused just as she felt when they heard those strangely familiar names being addressed to them. Bloom wondered who this Luna was, but before she could ask Flora what she was talking about, the shadows were done destroying the now-reduced-to-scrap-metal bus with multiple scathes clawing it at every inch. They slid onto the ground like a sleek snake and were heading straight for Flora, preparing to attack her from behind.

"Flora, watch out! Behind you!" Bloom cried out.

Flora turned around just in time to see the shadows rise from the ground, expanding and stretching massive feet above her head, hardening into solid and taking on a form. The figure looked somewhat similar to the previous monsters with the size of a lion and had the appearance of a wolf, dark claws as sharp as nails, and black wings attached to its' back, which looked lustrous and rich as the feather of a crow and the same coloring as its' deep black hardened skin. And its' eyes were bright crimson, but looked ten times bigger than the others, looming over the girls like a fierce god-like animal. The lips were pulled back into a snarl and a loud growl rumbled from the throat, and he bared his fangs at Flora while steams of disgust-looking, greenish-gray drool were streaking down his cheeks and onto the floor.

"Oh gross." Stella murmured. As much as she was concern about Flora, she couldn't let go of the disgusting image of the nasty drool the thing was slobbering. Her skin crawled, though she was at a safe distance, and she could tell she was going to need several showers to stop the itching feeling in her skin.

The monster barely acknowledged her, and focused all its' attention on Flora, who had her arms folded against her chest and wore an expressionless mask as she glared at the monster in front of her.

Winding one arm back, the creature lifted it up high in the air and brought it down with such force to bring it back down, aiming straight for Flora's head. But Flora stretched out her arms and used her new dark magic to create a shield, protecting her from the impact and shocked the monster like electricity when he tried to claw his way through, throwing him off balance. With a dark smirk on her face and her hands glowing with black energy, Flora threw her hands over her head and levitated the monster high in the air, with the black magic covering every inch of the body like a second skin, except for its' head that was too bust screaming in outrage. While he was still being risen in the air, she outstretched her left hand and slowly began to curl her fingers up, but the gesture caused the monster to scream in pain instead of rage with the volume of its' pained, ear-scattering screams increasing more and more as the fingers were slowly curling up more. It was like it was being tormented before suffering a painfully, slow death, and its' pained cries were screaming to show some mercy. Flora, on the other hand, looked as if she was enjoying seeing the creature in horrible pain and was strangely, disturbingly amused by the sight, acting like someone the girls didn't even recognize anymore.

Flora kept curling her fingers more slowly than last, increasing the ear-scattering shrieks from the creature, till her hand was finally balled up into a tight fist and monster screamed at the very top of its' lungs, letting out a extremely loud screech of unbearably pain and was so loud the place was shaking by the powerful shriek while some buildings were being to collapse.

The Winx girls quickly covered their heads to prepare for the collisions, but were later astonished when they felt nothing falling on them. They looked up and saw dark barriers hovering over their heads, protecting them from the buildings pieces coming apart. They were almost grateful to Flora for saving them, but considering what was going on with her they weren't entirely sure whether they should be more grateful or suspiciously conscious.

"You're proven yourself to be just as useless and worthless just like the others," Flora murmured slowly to the monster while balling her fist more tightly, her dark eyes glowing brightly with harsh coldness mixed with dark amusement. Surprisingly, her murmur could be heard through the monster's screams and the girls instantly took notice of the ice-cold venom dripping in her tone with some smugness. Using her mind to continue the levitating and death squeeze, she cupped her hands together before slowly pulling them apart to watch a ball of black energy emerging from her palms, growing stronger and bigger and was charged with black flames. "Death strike!"

Thrusting both her hands forward, the energy ball charged forward to the creature, sucking it inside and formed an orb bubble around it. The creature growled in rage and pain as it felt the orb draining all its' power and strength while burning hot, intense pain into his body. It felt as if there were over millions of sharp fiery knives, dipped in deathly poison, thrusting hard at every inch of its' body. The skin around it began to harden and crack. The beast kept screaming as this phenomenon spread across its body, until finally it molded into a statue, and then cracks began slashing across every inch of the body until it was crystallized into millions of pieces. The orb ball was finally undone and there was nothing left except for the shards of crushed ruby stones spilling onto the ground like powdered dust.

The Winx girls were all too speechless to even think or move from their positions. The bus they had ridden on their way to the spa was now nothing reduced to scrap metal, dark creatures attacked them and knocked them out cold, and Flora was the only one who was able to destroy them-with some new magic much darker than anything else they have ever seen.

Layla slowly stood up and took hesitant, baby steps toward Flora, whose back was turn to her. "Flora?" she said, reaching out for her left shoulder.

But before her hand could lie upon Flora's shoulder, Flora swiftly turned around in a blink of an eye and both of Layla's wrists were caught in a tightened, death grip and found herself being lifted off the ground. Bullets of energy shocks were sucking away all of her strength and weakening her power, electrifying her body from the inside out like a flash of lightening stuck her, and she was shouting in pain.

"Flora, it's me!" Layla cried out loud in pain, and the others quickly got onto their feet and ran over to help her. "Layla, one of your best friends!"

_Friend?_ She frowned slightly, finding the word to be almost unfamiliar to her. But there was something vaguely familiar about the dark-haired fairy, who was caught in her grip. Her friend? Her friend Layla? Layla?

Finally remembrance stuck her, and Layla could tell by the spark in her eyes she was slowly starting to remember and was aware of what was going on as she looked all around them, eyeing the destroyed bus, the powdered remains of the creatures, and the puzzled, frightened expressions on her friends' faces.

This was all too familiar to her. The destruction caused by the dark shadows, remains reduced to powdered ashes, feeling the surge of power pouring into her, and seeing the looks on her friends' faces as they stared at her in disbelief. Disbelief mixed with fear showing in their eyes. They looked like they couldn't believe what they were seeing, and also looked scared of her, as if she was someone they no longer recognize anymore. This would have normally saddened her at first and also shock her, but cause puzzled fuzziness to spin inside her head. What she was seeing now felt vaguely familiar: shadow monsters causing destruction, the strong feeling of dark energy pulsing inside her, and the looks of fear and disbelief in others' eyes as they stared at her.

Layla was released from her grasp and landed _hard_ on her butt on the cemented-street with a loud _thump_. She groaned as she lightly rubbed her upper left thigh, knowing she was going to have a serious bruise the next morning. She looked up at Flora, and saw confusion spinning wildly in her eyes as Flora leaned down and glared much harder at her face.

The confusion was increasing significantly in Flora's blooded red eyes, as she slowly moved her gaze to each girl's face, looking from Layla's to Musa saved for last. She took step backs as she quicken the speed of her staring and had each face burned into memory, shaking her head in utter disbelief.

_This is impossible!_ She thought while her mouth was agape and her head slowly shaking side to side. "You're all suppose to be dead. I've slaughtered each and every one of you. _You were destroyed!_" She exclaimed, recalling their lifeless bodies scattered all over the throne room, their crimson blood flowing on the dark floor, the multiple cuts and bruises on their bodies that only later weakened their immune system and played a great part of their deaths, and the strange, peaceful expressions on their faces when their souls finally left their bodies and were being sucked into her power. She was there to witness the times of their deaths, feeling a small sense of remorse but immediately pushed that feeling she found to be only sickening and used their life forces to strengthen her power. She knew what she saw; they should all be dead.

She felt as if she was arguing with two people, one loud voice in the back of her head shouting she must be having a delusion since she knew perfectly well they-her _former_ friends-were all dead while another voice, which was just as loud, shouted she was caught in a strange dream, and they were her best friends-who she cared for like they were her own sisters and were still very much alive. Memories, so many memories from the distant, vague past to the recent time, were being mixed up together and too many for her to handle on her own. Everything was spinning all around her over again; a feeling she experienced...when was it? Yesterday when she was touched by him.

"_No, no, no!_" She shouted, covering her ears with her hands and shutting her eyes tightly, desperately trying to clear everything out from her mind and concentrate only on thinking. If that could even be possible. While she was attempting to calm herself down and think hard, power was shifting madly inside her, moving back and forth. This was all too confusing; the world was spinning and nothing made sense.

She opened her eyes just a bit to see them taking hesitant steps toward her, their concerned expressions saying they only wanted to help her. She bit her bottom lip hard and barely unable to resist the great urge to scream from the pain spinning around in her head.

"Flora?" She titled her head up a bit to see a familiar girl with beautiful midnight-blue eyes, which matched the shade of her long hair, reaching out her hand. She looked so familiar and could easily pass as a twin sister for Melody, expect for the small fact Melody's hair was short at shoulder-length and she usually preferred to wear her hair in pigtails while the girl's was down at her waist. But when she glared closer at the girl, she knew she wasn't the late fairy and was instead Musa, her friend (?)

The spinning slowed down to a minimum and things were instead getting darker and darker until it was completely swallowed up by darkness. She finally was done trying to fight off her mind, and transformed back, letting herself get consume by the blackness and felt herself falling forward. She would have fallen flat on her face if Musa didn't quickly catch her before she fell.

**Read, review. Tell me what you think. And have any suggestions for the story, then tell me.**


	5. Chapter 5

The girls quickly took their unconscious friend to the park after she fainted into Musa's arms. Tecna did a cat scan on her hand held and checked Flora's condition when the girls gently laid her flat on her back on the grass in the meadow field, concluding she was knocked out and would stay that way for a few extra minutes before she comes through. Bloom and Musa stayed behind with Flora while Stella, Tecna, and Layla went to get her a drink from the nearest convenience store to get her a drink in case she's thirsty. Musa supported Flora's head by laying it gently on her lap, and entertained herself by combing her friend's hair gently with her fingers. Bloom, on the other hand, was too busy thinking about what had just happened to Flora.

"Do you think something was controlling her? Like those monsters put a dark spell on her?" she asked Musa.

"You mean like with Lord Darkar did with you and turned you evil?" Musa said. Bloom nodded, and Musa looked down at Flora's sleeping face while biting her bottom lip and thinking a moment to think about that. "I think so, probably. But then again, it doesn't really make sense. If they used a dark spell on Flora to turn her dark, then why would they had her destroy them?"

Bloom thought about the question for awhile before shrugging her shoulders and sighing, meaning she really couldn't come up with anything. She would have normally suspected Icy, Darcy, and Stormy since causing mishap was something those witches really craved and hated all the Winx girls practically forever. But then again, when she considered it, she remembered how she was normally their favorite fairy to mess with, and causing dark spells on fairies to make them destroy monsters was not their style. So, that option was definitely off.

Musa could tell what was going through Bloom's mind while she was silent and lost in her thoughts, and nodded. "It couldn't have been the witches and the monsters are definitely out. But something definitely was used to spell and control her. With those glowing red eyes and black magic, it's pretty obvious something was turning her dark."

Both girls couldn't help shuddering at the memory of sweet Flora suddenly acting so cold like an evil witch, laughing and smiling darkly at the monsters' pain. It was something that was too messed-up and wrong to even be considered an unbelievably, unthinkable possibility.

"But you know what's weird, Musa?" Bloom questioned.

"What?" she asked.

"Those names Flora called us. She called you Melody, Layla Lauren, Tecna Titania, Stella Chelsea, and me Luna. For some reason those names seem really familiar somehow, like a distant connection." It was especially strange to Bloom, because she really wasn't familiar with her family's history. Her home planet, Sparks, was under attack by the three ancient witches, who destroyed everything in their path and came to the planet to get one thing: the power of the Dragon fire. Her parents, along with other brave warriors, wizards, and sorceresses, fought bravely against the witches and summoned all the power and strength within them to continue fighting, even when the odds were extremely high, and protected Sparks for as long as they could. Bloom, who was a little baby at the time, was taken from the dangerous battle by her elder sister, Daphne, who took her baby sister to the planet Earth where she believed Bloom would be safe. Bloom was adopted by mortal parents, who were loving second parents to her, and was raised in Earth. Her older sister sacrificed herself to save her and her birth parents were still missing after the huge battle with the witches, who didn't get the power of the Dragon fire but still unfortunately succeeded in destroying the planet before they were executed. With only a small brief information on her home planet and her family tree, Bloom didn't really know anything about her original family history. But the name Luna, however, was ringing bells in her head, and a voice in the back of her head told her it was a _family_ name.

Musa nodded, feeling the same way. Even though her mother died from sickness when she was only five, unlike Bloom who didn't know much about her family history, Musa still had all the information she needed about relatives on both sides of her family that was told her by her dad. But the name Melody was echoing eerily all throughout her head, and she felt a strong, strange sense of deja vu.

She snapped out of her reverie when she heard her name being called. She glared at Bloom, who looked just as confused about all this as she felt, but had another emotion in her eyes that showed more worried fear than confusion. "Yo, B, what's up?"

"I don't know why, Musa, but I'm having a really bad feeling about something. As if something is telling me the worst has yet to come." Bloom answered, her expression haunted.

Musa was silent again as she looked down at Flora's unconscious face and returned to combing her friend's hair with her fingers ever so gently. She remained calm and collected on the outside with a firm expression on her face, not showing how the bits of fear Bloom's haunted words had affected her. She was worried about her friends and how bad the new threat could be, wondering what kind of danger they were up against and what kind of power they had up their sleeve. But was she determined to stay positive. After all, the girls have faced danger before and were always victorious in the end while working together like the great team they were.

As Musa began to start re-combing Flora's hair once more and straightened out the bangs getting into her friend's bangs, she felt sudden movement in the head as it was motionlessly still for a moment before slowly leaning on the right side. And then heard a small sound of a murmur and groan escaping from the girl's lips. Startled, Musa and Bloom inched in closer toward Flora.

Her body was still lying motionless, and any movement at all seemed to be taking place in her face. Both friends noticed they way her lips were turning into a frown while her eyes were being shut tightly, as if whatever she was seeing behind her closed eyelids was causing her confusion. She was stirring in her sleep, quietly groaning while moving her head back and forth to the left and right side. Finally, after what felt like to be a century, she finally and slowly opened her eyes.

The sudden brightness from the sun made her shut her eyes quickly and was squinting when she re-opened them. She groaned quietly again as she rubbed her eyes harder this time before she was finally adjusted to the bright light. She raised her head up slightly, cautiously placing her right hand against her aching head, which was still spinning and she could hear a faint ringing in her ears. She then put down her hand, and used her elbows to lift her upper body off the grass.

Bloom hasn't realized the breath she has been holding in, and finally released as she exhaled in utter relief. "Flora? Are you okay?"

Flora looked into the redhead's face, her forehead ceased in confused frown lines and glared at her critically with narrowed eyes. Bloom grew fearful that Flora didn't remember who she was. But the fear immediately melted away into joyous relief when Flora's lips curled up into a weak smile. "Bloom?" she mumbled, and slowly lifted herself up into a sitting position and rubbed her head. She turned back to Musa, who was worried she herself might not be remembered. But when she saw the weak smile on the nature fairy's face widen as she faced her, her fear also changed into joyous relief.

"Flo? You remember who I am, don't you?" Musa asked.

"Of course I do." She nodded, but was about to say more until she found herself being pulled into a tight threesome embrace, sandwiched in between the two fairies hugging her so tightly, she felt squished. "Can't breathe!" she gasped.

"Flora!" The girls broke their embrace for a moment, and saw Stella, Tecna, and Layla just returning from the store, with a bottle of ginger-ale being carried in Stella's hands, and were running at full speed toward them. Stella was the first one to run up to Flora, throwing her arms around her friend's neck and and pulling into a tight hug.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're okay!" She exclaimed happily, hugging her tightly with all her might, giggling along with Flora but also ignored her whining about the hug crushing her bones. When Flora was finally released from the embrace, Stella's mood shifted from joyous relief to stern worried concern. She glared sternly at Flora and said "Never, ever scare like that ever again. I was so anxious I came this close to biting my nails off!" She displayed the very small distance between her thumb and index finger.

"She's right!" Tecna added, after she and Layla got their chances to hug Flora and they all sat down on the warm, green grass, forming a small circle. "I never want to be that worried and scared to death like that ever again." She handed Flora her bottled ginger-ale, watching her chug down more than half the bottle greedily without stopping. That pretty much showed how thirsty she was.

"Flora, what happened back there? How were you able to destroy those guys and where the hell did those powers come from?" Layla asked.

Flora slowly pulled the soda away from her lips after taking one quick sip. She blankly stared at the dark-haired fairy, arching her left eyebrow and narrowing her eyes in confusion. She turned to the others, hoping one of them could explain what Layla was talking about. But saw the same questioning looks in their eyes like she did with Layla. Finally she just asked, point blank, "What are you talking about?"

_What?!_ That was question going through each girl's head, except for Flora of course, who was even more puzzled.

"Flora, do you recall anything that happened as we were riding the bus to Downtown Magix?" Tecna asked.

Flora tried her best to think hard about what happened. She remembered how something hit the bus from the rear end hard with great force, shadows crawling inside the burning everything they touched, people fleeing from the scene while she and the girls stayed behind to try fighting the monsters off, how the monsters blasted negative energy balls at them, knocking them out cold and scattered all over the streets. She recalled how she was the only one still in her Enchantix form while her friends transformed back when they were knocked out, and how angry and fearful she was when she saw the monsters going after them, with the intense hunger in their eyes clearly showing what they planned to do with the girls. Recalled the boiling anger rising high within her that she felt toward the creatures, and how determined she was on not letting her friends down. Remembered how fast the anger spread, the strange jolt of power she felt bursting within her and spreading fast, and how it consume her. And after that...after that...the rest was nothing but a complete blur.

She couldn't remember anything else after the anger emotionally and mentally ate her alive. The more she tried to think back, the more blankness would occur in her head and turn up nothing.

When she told her friends this, they were all astonished and stared at her in disbelief with their widened eyes and mouths agape. They exchanged private looks with each other before turning back to Flora and telling her the rest of what happened, each one telling a section of the long tale. Bloom started off and told her how when they all finally came through from the trance, they instantly saw the change within her. She talked about how they felt a dark presence controlling her, making her eyes glow blooded red and spreading a evil smirk across her very face. Musa, Tecna, and Stella next explained how the dark presence also gave her extremely strong powers that she used to destroy the creatures, reducing them to ashes. Layla lastly explained how they were shocked by the whole and also how Flora then used her magic to attack her.

"When I told you who I was, you looked like you didn't even recognize me. But then you looked speechless when you looked harder at all our faces. You called me Lauren, Bloom Luna, Stella Chelsea, Musa Melody, and Tecna Titania. You kept saying stuff like how you destroyed us and we're supposed to be dead. But when you finally snapped out of it and finally came through, you fainted into Musa's arms." Layla told her.

_I did what?!_ Those very words were screaming loudly inside Flora's head when she heard about what she had done to both the monsters and Layla. As the others told her what happened after the strange jolt of power coming from her anger had consume her, quick flashbacks of the event instantly raced through her head and she gasped in complete shock once the memory returned to her. She might have remembered it, but still couldn't believe it. The girl she remembered fighting against the monsters, destroying them easily with her new powers, was her and yet at same tine wasn't her. It was like she was looking into a mirror that showed her a completely different image so twisted, it was beyond unreal. But the thing that was most shocking to her was her harming Layla. It was unimaginable she would ever hurt her or any of her friends.

Flora's body was trembling in fear and shock. She placed a shaky hand over her agape mouth, knowing tears would fall nonstop from her eyes if she pulled the hand away. She looked at Layla with water already moisturizing her eyes, nearly blinding her vision, and said with a shaky voice "Layla, I'm so-I didn't mean-I didn't..."

She couldn't finish the sentence, for grief has already taken hold of her and it wasn't long before tears in fat drops were rolling down her cheeks. Layla smiled at her sympathetically and pulled her into a comforting hug, lying her head on Flora's caramel hair as she gently stroked it. "It's okay, it's okay." she said, knowing it wasn't entirely Flora's fault she was under the influence of darkness. She and other girls knew she would never hurt them, so of course all was forgiven.

Instantaneously, Bloom, Stella, Musa, and Tecna opened their arms wide and joined into the sweet embrace, enjoying the tender moment between them.

Then, all of the sudden, a idea struck Tecna's head swiftly as a flash of lightening. _Of course!_ She thought, her eyes narrowing as she thought more about it. The only logical explanation about what happened to Flora and the culprit behind it was so clear and obvious, she wondered how come she didn't think about it before. "Of course!" she exclaimed so suddenly, pulling away from the friendship hug, and looked into her friends' questioning stares. "Why didn't it come to me before?!"

"Mind letting us into what you're talking about, Tec?" asked Musa.

"What I'm talking about, Musa, is how the answer just came to me. Think about it, girls. The only logical explanation of whom the culprit is behind this mess..." She paused dramatically, then finally come out with the answer. "Our mysterious stranger who was stalking Flora yesterday."

Flora's mind immediately created a image of the beautiful yet dangerous young man. His face beautified with mind-blowing, stunning features that were more gorgeous than any attractive actor or model, his black eyes soulless and showing nothing but malicious darkness, and his smile the smile of a true heartless villain. She wiped her tears away and gulped down a huge lump wedged in her throat, finding it nearly impossible to swallow down.

"That actually makes sense." Bloom said, after a moment of silence where they were all lost in their thoughts.

"I don't know about that one, girls," Stella objected, not entirely convinced stalker boy could be behind it. If there's one thing she has definitely learned from Tecna, it was every person-including villains-needed a purpose or motive behind their plans. So the question was, what was his? "The dude is a creepy stalker who has a scary obsessive with Flora, and has to be a strong wizard to be able to do what Flora told us he did to her. But think about it. First of all, Flora didn't see him on the bus. Secondly, why would he just blast our bus and have monsters attack us, then use a dark spell of Flora? It doesn't make any sense."

"Stella does have a point there, girls." Layla said. "The dude sounds mess-up, but the attack that just happened seems way too...random to me. Besides, causing panic and mayhem seems like the kind of thing Icy, Darcy, and Stormy love spreading around."

"I thought about that, too," Bloom explained. "But later I realized it couldn't be them. The witches love causing mayhem, but casting a dark spell on Flora just so she destroys monsters doesn't seem like their kind of style. That sounds more like helping our benefit in a weird way when you think about it."

"Exactly!" Tecna said. "Which is why the only reasonable culprit is the stalker. He obviously enjoys tauting Flora and gets thrills from messing around with her. He's a dark wizard, so he must have created those shadow beasts to attack us. The reason behind the attack could be a warning."

"A warning?" Flora asked. She would have been lying to herself if she said everything Tecna just said was completely untrue. And the more she thought about it, the more she started to see and understand he was the one behind the attack. But still, why would he do it? And if it was a warning, what it about?

"A warning to you, Flora, and probably to us, too, that he's soon going to grace us with his infamous appearance." Tecna answered, with cold venom dripping in her voice as she said the last part of her sentence.

"Well, then it's obvious what we have to do next. We have to keep our eyes open from now on and watch out for this freak, and also make sure he's far away from Flora as possible." Layla said confidentially, making the problem seem easier to handle than it actually was.

But Bloom unfortunately had to be the bearer of bad news, saying even though the man had plans to make his appearance, they still have no idea where and when. For all they know it could be at any place and moment when they least expect it. And she had to be the one to watch their hopeful face fall into grim frowns.

"Maybe he plans to do it at Red Fountain," Musa suggested, and looked into their curious glances. "Tonight, they're throwing this event where there's suppose to be fighting, dragon-wrangling, and, after that, a party with music and dancing. Where people will be having so much fun and enjoying themselves, it would perfect place for a dark wizard to crash."

Slowly the corners of Flora's lips curled up into a small smile. She praised Musa for the idea, as did the other girls, which made a proud beam spread across Musa's face. "Now, all we have to figure out is when exactly he's going to come?" Flora said.

They then turned to Bloom, looking like soldiers waiting for a command from their general or students anticipating the next question from a teacher. It wasn't a complete surprise, because Bloom has been the leader of the Winx since freshmen year, voted anonymously thanks to her sharp determination and good leadership skills, which made her such a good leader. But occasionally, from time to time, she finds the whole leadership thing a bit intimidating and overwhelming.

Taking a quick breath and clearing her throat, Bloom let them in on a plan that just came to her head. "So, we're sure he's going to crash the Red Fountain tournament, then that means we should keep our eyes open at all time. We definitely should stick together, Tecna can check the security cameras for anything suspicious, Musa can keep a eye on the audience while she's getting ready to perform, and we should get the boys involved. That way they can keep their eyes open and secure the area."

Hearing the last part of Bloom's sentence caused Flora's smile to wry a bit-actually more than just a bit. And it was only because she didn't want Helia to get involve in this and be more worried about her than he already was.

Stella stood up from the grass, dusted the dirt and grass bits from her clothes, and checked her phone for the time. "Wonderful!" She put her phone back in her bag and turned to her friends. "Good news! If we start moving right now, then we make it just in time for our spa appointment."

Their response was not surprising and exactly how Stella predicted: rolling of the eyes and shaking their heads. Luckily, she had a secret weapon up her sleeve, the same one she used on Brandon and her dad countless times to get what she wanted: her signature, undeniable cute, helpless puppy face, with her eyes showing the same adorable innocence as a little, lost puppy that had no other place to go, and her full lips going on a pout. The look was an absolute charm and has never failed her before, but her friends had stronger wills able to withstand the cute face and were tempted to say no. But then they thought about all Stella went through to get them reservations at the exclusive spa, and finally agreed to go.

But, just as caution, instead of taking another bus, they turn into fairies and flew down to the spa. The place was huge in wide length and several stories high, painted in light pastel colors and had crystal-glass doors and windows. And outside was not one or two, but _three _unbelievably long lines of girls stretching out for miles and miles, waiting for a chance of spa relaxation, with red velvet ropes separating the lines and actually had a rather large dark-skinned man, who looked more like bodybuilder, as the bouncer and was jolting down stuff in his clipboard. He glared sternly at each girl with hard, ice-cold eyes, then would only eventually let her in when another has left the spa. The girls took notice of how pampered and relaxed the girl looked, which was clear people weren't telling lies about the place.

"Whoa!" Musa commented, the only word she could to describe the spa and the huge lines getting longer and longer.

"I know right," Stella smiled, turning around to give Musa a knowing look. "But this is totally nothing compared to the huge lines they have on Fridays, and don't even get me started on the Saturday buzz."

"That guy looks...kind of intimidating." Flora eyed the huge and burly bouncer, who looked like he could easily win his way through over twenty wrestling matches. She wasn't sure how the others girls were able to handle his hard-core eyes she was finding to be more and more scary.

Stella snorted as she took one look at the guy and dismissed him with a wave, simply saying "Friad not, girls. Like I said, my mom's friend totally has our backs on this one, so we're definitely on the list."

With that being said, Stella strolled down to the bouncer with the girls following close behind her, cutting the lines and ignoring the dark glares and snaps coming from the annoyed girls they cut. The bouncer barely even looked at them, keeping his eyes on his clipboard, and told the girls to get their butts all the way back at the end of the lines unless they preferred to be move down with _hard force_. Bloom, who immediately took notice of the harsh coolness in his hard voice, almost walked back until Stella grabbed her arm and smiled sweetly at the non-amused bouncer.

"My mom happens to be good friends with the owner/manager of this place, Miss Gloria Field, who I believe also happens to be your boss. And I know I have a reserved appointment for me, Stella of Solaria, and my five guests." She gestured her left hand at her friends, who cracked small smiles.

"Sure, girly." The bouncer replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"I'm serious. Check the list and see for yourself." Stella insisted.

Rolling his eyes again, he decided to at least give it a shot, which he figured would be the quickest way to get rid of annoying blondie. But his bored eyes instantly widen in surprise when he spotted the name Stella of Solaria reserved for six at an 11:30 appointment. _Guess annoying blondie really wasn't kidding_, he thought.

Looking sheepish for the first time, the bouncer gestured his hand at the spa entrance and said, with a dry, tight smile pasted on his face, "Hope you ladies have a marvelous time at Soothing R&R."

The girls cheered happily as they shared a group high five, praising Stella and thank the bouncer before making their way inside. The minute they stepped inside, they were speechless as they looked around.

If angels could really come down from the heaven, then a group choir of them would be singing a beautiful chorus right now. That was going through each girl's mind as they came across spa heaven. It was painted similarly to the outside in the same light colors, soothing music was being played from the loud speakers, and was divided into four levels. First level, where they were at, was the salon where girls were getting their hair and nails done; second level was the massage and facial Paradise; and the third and fourth were the mud baths and tanning rooms.

"Girls," Stella said, a huge beam pasted on her face. "Welcome to Spa Paradise!"

"This is going to be so much fun. Come on, let's go." Bloom said.

They first met up with the woman who set up the whole appointment for them, Miss Gloria, who was a very pretty bleach-haired blond, and got them started from first to fourth level. It was long before the girls were changed into the spa's light pink, knee-length silken robes and seated in comfortable salon chairs, getting their hair and nails touched and redone by two stylists, who wasted no time getting to work. The minute the girls sat their butts down, the stylists showed a virtual display of over a thousand different hairstyles and their huge collection of nail polish in every color knew to man for them to choose from. Their hair got shampooed and conditioned, rinse and repeated, and their hands and feet were dunk into hot, soothing milk and getting a deep massage before their nails were covered with a coat of nail polish. With their freshly manicure and pedicure nails and warm towels wrapped around their heads, the girls were sent upstairs to the massage treatment, getting their eyebrows plucked and receiving deep tissue massages from cute male massage therapists.

"This is nice," Layla said, her voice and body both vibrating while she was given a full head to toe massage. "This is very, very, nice."

The girls all agreed and let out sighs of pleasure, as they felt strong hands giving their backs a hard rub down.

"What do you think the guys would say if they saw us like this?" Bloom asked.

Stella pretend to be lost in thought, thinking what a group of boyfriends would do and say if they saw their own girlfriends getting massages by cute massage therapists. Clicking her tongue, she finally answered "Start a fight and be green with envy."

They all burst into uncontrollable laughter, finding the comment to be very amusing but also quite true. The guys may be sweet, but every jealous vein in their bodies would be pulsing loudly and nearly pop out the minute they see a guy flirting with them.

As soon as the massages were finish, the therapists washed their hands first and grabbed a tube of all natural, organic sea-form facial cream they guaranteed would be make their skin glow and smooth than never before, and used a Popsicle stick to spread the goop all over their faces. It felt extremely cold at first, but also sticky with a sweet smelling scent like honey. When it was finally solid, the girls had to wait for over thirty minutes for the facial to have full affect.

When the minutes were finally up, the girls were sent up to the top floors, where they spent blissful minutes in the soothing mud bath and then moved onto to the steaming room, where they went in for some nice steam. The whole experience was so wonderful and relaxing, and they could see why and how the Spa got its' well-deserved reputation.

After their relaxing treatment and getting pampered like princesses(even though Stella, Bloom, Layla, and Musa are the real princesses of the group), the girls left the spa with big smiles on their faces, feeling completely relaxed and at ease. Next stop was the shops and boutiques to find the perfect outfits for the event.

Sure, they all enjoy shopping, but if anyone was completely obsess with it like an addiction, it's definitely their own shopaholic princess herself, Stella. She simply smirks at the jokes and comments her friends make about her shopping addiction, letting them bounce off her like rubber. To her friends, shopping was just going into a store and picking up a few new clothes, but to her it was completely different. Shopping was trying to find the perfect look that tells about your personality and individuality, shows the outside appearance of who you are on the inside whether it's preppy, girly, sporty, or even Goth. It was an expression of art to her to show who she really was, not to mention her favorite thing to do with her friends or when she's flying solo.

Her passion for fashion and shopping expression is clearly shown through her huge, walk-in closet filled with amazing, designer-label clothes and the huge bills on her credit cards her dad received every month from her shopping spree. And today, Stella planned to go on a nonstop, stop-till-you-drop marathon till she and her friends find the most amazing outfits and also a few more things.

The first store they stopped at was _It's you, doll_, a very huge and cute boutique always crowded with people and carries the coolest clothes from the hottest designers. The girls wasted no time looking around the store, grabbing a few items off the rack and shelves, and trying them on in the dressing room.

"Alright, guys, be honest. What do you think of this one?" Bloom asked, coming out from her dressing room and doing a small twirl in a aqua blue ruffle-neck, short-sleeved top with a zipper adorned on the front and was attached to a black skirt inches above the knees, and paired the ensemble dress with a pair of black patent flats and added a glossy matching blue hairband to complete the outfit.

The girls peeked their heads out from their dressing rooms to take a look at the outfit, and all thought the outfit was a success. Stella added in her own option, saying while pointing her index finger at each item Bloom was modeling, "Give the dress a ten, shoes a nine, and hairband accessorise extra points for completing the outfit, which altogether makes a perfect total and score."

Musa wasn't having that much luck with her possible outfit choices. Because she was attending the tournament and event and also was going to so a song at the dance, she was going to need two outfits. And since she planned to sing a fast-beat song, she wanted the outfit to be hot and also comfortable enough for her to dance in. But so far everything she tried on either looked too plain or girly for her taste, and some were straight-up ridiculous.

"This is ridiculous." She muttered to herself, looking at the purple plaid ensemble she at first thought would be a cool performance number but now saw it wasn't right at all. She took off the outfit and tossed it into a pile of clothing she already tried on and planned to return to the racks when she's done trying on the rest of the stuff. There was very few she hasn't tried on yet, and she looked closely at the remaining choices and eyed each item critically to see which one would make a really cool outfit.

Finally, she changed into a cherry-red and black checker plaid mini shrug jacket, matching cherry-red tube top, fluttering black mini skirt with black sequin bedazzled on the top and bottom hem, and bejeweled thong sandals.

She looked at her reflection and was pleased with what she was seeing in the mirror. The outfit had a cool color scheme, did a terrific job showing off her curves, and made her look ten times hotter. She still wasn't going to reply on rely on her own option, so she went out to see what her friends would think of the ensemble and hear what Stella, the fashionista, would give her approval.

"Tada!" she said, striking a model pose the minute she stepped out her dressing room.

"I totally love it, Musa. It's so you." Bloom said through the small applaud she and the girls gave for Musa for the fashion success of her outfit.

Flora opened the door to her dressing just a bit so she could have a look at the outfit, and thought Musa looked so cute in it. "Is that the outfit you're going to wear to the RF tournament/dance or when you perform your song?"

"This one seems more like a dance one." Musa said, doing another twirl.

"I couldn't agree more with you. Musa, you should very proud of yourself because your outfit passed my fashionista test with flying colors. A nine for both the shrug and cute top, another nine for the adorable skirt and shoes, and also a ten for the color scheme. Black and red, a perfect combination of two amazing colors looking even more fabulous together, which gives you extra points and a great fashion score." Stella nodded her head in approval with a pleased smile.

"Thanks. Now all I need is another outfit for my performance. I went through over a dozen outfits and nothing seems to be right." Musa replied.

"What kind of song do you plan doing at the dance?" Tecna asked, stepping out of her dressing room and was dressed in a sheer cerise cap-sleeved top with a matching satin camisole under layer and ruffle-frill detailing in front, black fitted cut-out skirt inches above the knees both simply decent and sexy at the same time that she paired with a classical studded black belt, and violet stiletto-heeled pumps. The outfit was so her and beyond cute, plus the girls had no doubt Timmy was going to eat his heart out the minute he sees her.

Musa leaned her back against a changing room door and folded her arms against her chest, her lips frowning slightly. "I've decided to do a fast number to really get the crowd jumping. The only problem is I caught in between two great songs and can't pick which one to do. The first one is to _Make it Shine-_"

"I really like that song!" Flora said, couldn't help but blurting out the comment and interrupting Musa, while she was still inside her changing room and struggling to get her head through a green tank top, which was the twelfth shirt she tried on. She didn't intend to interrupt Musa speaking, but the when the song's name she remembered Musa playing it for them in Alfea's music room, showing off an awesome dance routine that went perfectly with the song, and how she loved the melody and lyrics.

Though she couldn't see it, she could still feel Musa's lips curving up into a smile, meaning to her relief she wasn't upset by the brief interruption and continued where she left off. "There's that song, and also _Nothing's wrong with me_."

"Now, that's a really good song," Bloom said. "And you created a really good dance routine."

Stella and Layla were next ones to come out from their dressing rooms and show off their outfits. Stella was dressed in a Betty Johnson fuchsia, sequin-trim crochet halter top, midnight rinse min skirt with a pearl choker chain attached to the left-side pocket, light pink strappy lace-up heels tied all the way up to her knees, and completed the outfit with a light pink fedora. It was a bit surprising to see her in a fedora since she usually refused to wear hats, claiming they mess up her hair but lets down her rule with the expectation of a bad hair day. Layla dressed in a black 3/4 sleeved blouse, dark stonewash, frayed-hem mini skirt with a swirl pattern of rhinestones on the right corner, and black leather flat boots.

"Love the hat, Stella." Tecna complimented on cute fedora.

"Why, thank you, darling. I do, of course, want to look fabulous for my Brandon when he sees me tonight." Stella replied, and then pulled Tecna close to her when Bloom took out her camera phone and started taking pictures of them.

Layla went back inside her dressing room for a quick second and came back with a pair of black denim boot-cut, ripped jeans with rhinestones slashing down the legs and encrusted by the ankles. The pants were cool but still weren't her style, but she figured they would be perfect for Musa, considering she had the whole rocker-music vibe to her.

"Those pants are hot!" Musa smiled, running her finger through the fine material.

"I know. These will look so fabulous on you and will be perfect to wear when you go on at the dance. Now all you need is the right top and shoes to go with it." Layla replied.

Stella already had that covered. She went into her dressing room and looked through the very big pile of clothes she already on, but didn't meet with her expectations. When she finally found the certain shirt she was looking for, she came back out and tossed it to Musa, who was caught off guard but still caught it. "This shirt may not be what I wanted, but it totally goes well with the pants and screams you."

Bloom then brought out a pair of cool-looking black leather chunky ankle boots she already tried on, and handed them to Musa. The girls playfully shoved her into a dressing room, told her to get change, and then come out so they can have a look at the outfit. Musa playfully rolled her eyes, changed out of her outfit she was wearing and dressed in the top Stella tossed her: a hot pink silk spaghetti-strapped, very short midriff cami top showing off her entire stomach and had two very thin spaghetti tied criss-cross around her waist. After putting on the top, she slipped on the jeans and boots.

Looking at the full-length mirror, Musa glared critically at her reflection and decided she looked...well, hot. The shirt may be a tab more revealing than she was hoping for and more girly than what she was going for, but really complimented the pants and the outfit really seemed to hug her curves, showing them off marvelously.

"Musa, come on! Let's see your outfit!" Hearing Stella's impatient snap brought Musa out of her thoughts and rolled her eyes at her friend's impatience. She opened the door and came out doing a small twirl for her friends, who showered her with compliments and applauded her. Bloom snapped a few shots of her while Stella was beaming proudly and sniffing a bit.

Tecna looked at Stella and was puzzled to see tears forming in her golden eyes. "Stella, are you alright? Why are you crying?"

Stella took that moment to blink her tears away in her eyes before turning to Tecna and answering her question. "Because fashion is like art, Tecna, and like any true artist, one always tears up a bit once they see a simple piece transform into a incredible masterpiece."

"That's Stella, our fashion guru herself." Bloom said, whose comment earned herself a light shove from Stella.

"Do you guys really like this?" Musa asked.

"Totally!" Bloom nodded her head energetically. "It's so awesome and has rock star written all over it."

"That's why I like shopping with you guys. Because I know you guys will always give me your honest options on what I try on, and won't hesitate to tell me what does or doesn't look good on me." Flora said, the last one to come out from her dressing room, and was dressed in a lace-trim, wine red halter top, skinny boot-cut midnight rinse capris with a matching red bedazzled belt, and matching red lace-up, strappy open-toed wedge espadrilles. "What do you think?"

Bloom placed a finger on Flora's arm and made a sizzling sound, adding a small smoking spell to make it smoke a bit without alarming anyone and for affect. Then she instantaneously pulled her finger back and flicked it around, as if she got burned. "The girl's hot!"

Tecna rolled her eyes at the corny expression Bloom joked around with, but still smiled at Flora. "Despite the ridiculous punch line Bloom attempted to make, she's definitely right about you looking smashing. You look simply incredible, Flora."

"You look amazing." Musa said.

"Definitely hot!" Layla winked.

"Helia is so going to faint when he see how drop-dead gorgeous you look in this outfit." Stella said.

"Thanks girls." Flora smiled. She hoped they were all right and especially hoped Helia would also like it, too.

Though they already gotten their outfits they plan to wear for Red Fountain, the girls didn't exactly stop ended their shopping trip. There was still the matter of accessorizing to really set their outfits, a few more things they spotted around the sore that caught their interest and knew would look really good on them, and other stores in Magix was throwing huge sale discounts. It would have been a sin in girl code to leave and not check out the other stores.

When they were finally done shopping at _It's you, doll_, they left with a big amount of shopping bags being carried in their hands and left the boutique in high spirits. The perfect attitude to have when you're on a shopping spree with best friends. Store after store, the girls went in and left with even more bags than they had before. Some of them, like Layla and Tecna, were surprised by the huge shopping bags they were carrying, which contained all the stuff they bought. But then again, when a girl's surrounded by mega sales selling really cute stuff, she can't help but go a bit crazy.

Stella, being the queen shopaholic she very much was, brought everything she saw and liked, which was practically the whole store itself. But with a few convincing attempting, the girls were able to convince her to buy half of the _gigantic_ total of clothes she wanted to purchase. Overall, having a spa day and going on a shopping spree was a perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

By the time the girls were finally done hitting the sales, they each had over dozens of shopping being held in their hands, their cameras filled with pictures they took of themselves during the small fashion show they were putting on in the dressing rooms, and their feet were completely sore from all that walking. When they got back to Alfea, they could also see some fellow students returning from the mall and checked for the time, seeing they have approximately two hours to get ready.

When Stella saw the time, she went ballistic and made a run for it to their dorm room. Bloom, Layla, Musa, and Flora stayed behind for a minute and exchanged looks with each other before shrugging their shoulders in unison and following their friend.

"We have two hours to get ready. That seems to be plenty of time to me." Layla said.

If it wasn't for the fact time was against her, Stella would have stopped and stared at Layla in disbelief, because the words that just slipped off her tongue showed she lost her mind. But she settled with herself by instead saying, "Two hours is barely enough to get ready. Four hours is more like it."

Tecna patted Musa's shoulder to get her attention, and, once she got it, she pointed at Stella and made a crazy person expression. Musa giggled, finding it all too true. She then turned forward and asked Stella "Stel, how long can it possibly take for you to change your clothes, run a comb through your hair, and put on some makeup?"

"For some, a few minutes but that's only when they want to pass as decent. But if a girl really wants to look good, then she's going to need more than an hour to get ready. Believe me, girls, taking our time would so be worth in the end. When we're done and head to Red Fountain, the guys are so gonna drool when they see us."

"I already called Sky, and he said we should meet him and the guys at the western gate entrance. That's the closest way to the stadium where they're going to have the jousting tournament." Bloom said.

"Well, that's good." Flora said, but she and the others stopped in their tracks when they saw a certain someone parked outside their door and looked like she was there for a while. Waiting for them.

It was Nathalie, still dressed in the dark blue cloak she was wearing earlier but had the hood down, showing off her pretty silver hair tied in a bun piled on top of her head. Her blue speckles were nearly slipping off the tip of her nose, and she turned her head toward them as she slipped her glasses back on.

She eyed the shopping bags in their hands, and titled her head to study each girl carefully with an expressionless, unreadable glint in her eyes. She saved Flora for last and glared at her much harder than she did with the other girls. Though there wasn't a disgusted scowl on Nathalie's face and her gaze wasn't cold like it was earlier, it wasn't warm either. Not to mention unfriendly. Her hard eyes pierced right through her, and poor Flora was getting more and more uncomfortable by the unsettling golden eyes still watching her. Flora glared at Nathalie as Nathalie did with her, and, though she didn't want to pull away her head in defeat and let Nathalie's unsettling eyes get to her, she also hoped something would distract Nathalie long enough to keep her attention focused on anything else besides her.

Bloom loudly cleared her throat, which helped Nathalie slowly pull her eyes off Flora and focus more of her attention on all the girls together. Flora couldn't be anymore grateful for Bloom's distraction.

"Why, hello Nathalie," Stella put down her precious shopping arms on the floor and folded her arms against her chest, eyeing Nathalie coolly. Her voice was more chilled now than it was before when she met the earlier woman. Shopping and the spa day may have made her Sunday afternoon enjoyable, but she still wasn't going to forget nor forgive the woman acting so mean to Flora and pretend everything was peachy between them. That's what true friendship was all about. "Mind telling us why you're standing outside our door?"

Nathalie seemed to have heard the question, but still didn't give her reply and bypassed it. Eyeing the shopping bags, she arched her eyebrow and said "Well, I can certainly see you girls have been occupied this afternoon. Did you have any fun?"

Bloom nodded, trying to act casual as she could be with Nathalie while also keeping her guard up. She, too, couldn't forget how rude she treated Flora, but unlike Stella's approach of acting chilled cool, she thought acting rude back would only turn right back to them and stir up trouble. And that wouldn't be good, because she was apparently their new teacher, though her behavior was childish. "We went to the spa and then went shopping after that. Red Fountain is throwing their annual jousting tournament and post party/dance, and since our boyfriends go there and going to be part of competition, we want to look especially good for them."

"Speaking of which, we really need to get ready. So, if you can please excuse us." Layla frowned, and waited for Nathalie to shift away from the door before she walked right up and used her dorm key to get into dorm, turning to Nathalie and giving her a chilled look before going inside. One by one, the girls followed Layla, but not without stopping a second to give Nathalie a chilled look.

Flora was the last one to walk in, but when she turned around to look at Nathalie, she was caught off guard when the old woman placed her hand on her arm and used her free arm to outstretch and block her way from getting inside.

Nathalie looked at her with those unreadable eyes, staring at her for the longest time Flora wondered if she was in a trance. But finally she seemed to have control over herself and sighed heavily, like something on her mind was upsetting her, before looking back at Flora and softly asked "May I have a word with you?"

Flora hesitated for a moment, unsure what her answer should be. After the way Nathalie snapped at her earlier, she figured Nathalie probably wasn't through with ice-queen act. But when she saw there wasn't snarl or outraged emotions in her eyes, Flora's good nature side took over and she nodded her head. She went inside the dorm room for a minute to put away and explained to her friends what she was doing, and then she came back out again.

Nathalie only nodded her head, and soon she and Flora were walking side by side, with some distance spreading them apart, and walked down several halls, down two staircases, and turned at various corners. There was only silence between the two of them, which seemed to be both awkward and tense, and both were lost in her own thoughts. They all walked all throughout the Alfea campus, making a quick stop at the library without checking out any books and stopping briefly at the greenhouse their nature teacher, Professor Palladium, created and added two years ago when the girls were still in sophomore year. Seeing the different green plants and beautiful flowers made Flora smile a bit as she looked around, also getting the enough amount of strength she was going to need to continue walking around with Nathalie. Nathalie noticed the gleam in Flora's emerald eyes, when they walked through the greenhouse, and sighed again before they left and returned walking around the entire school.

They finally stopped at the quad, where Nathalie rested on a bench and watched Flora sitting by the fountain and amused herself by dipping her hand into the water, looking at her reflection in the water and poking around at it. She couldn't tell which one was more shameful: the fact she still hasn't apologized for her rude behavior earlier or how she wasted all this time walking around with Flora and keeping to herself when she planned to sit down and have a good, civil talk to her. After debating the over the two options, she decided the second choice was the winner. She had planned to be alone with Flora, so they could hopeful talk and allow Flora to see her point of view, but instead wasted all the valuable time she had by only taking a quiet walk with the girl and keeping her distance.

"Flora," Flora pulled her hand out from the water and wiped it dry on her pink mini skirt, then turned around to Nathalie when she heard her name being addressed. Nathalie took her time to steady herself and let in a deep breath, hoping it in for the longest time before slowly releasing it through her nose. "Flora, I wanted to say I'm very sorry for my behavior. The way I acted so cold toward you, the unnecessary words I used were just plain rude, and the whole thing was overall completely childish."

"Well, that's okay, Nathalie." Flora said the words slowly, hesitating with uncertainty until the words really set in, and she said them with assurance. Nathalie was hesitate and very distant during their very awkward walk around the school, and Flora was questioning why she asked to talk to her. But hearing Nathalie's apologize, she decided to let bygones be bygones and for them to have a new, fresh start.

Nathalie raised her eyebrow in surprise when she heard Flora's reply, looking a bit caught off guard, but had bits of gratitude in her eyes and her lips almost had a fainted trace of a weak smile. Almost, but was quickly erased from her face and the warm emotion was quickly overshadowed by sudden sullen seriousness. She looked more somber than she did before, her eyes once again unreadable while her face was expressionless. She lowered her gaze on the ground, focusing more on the rocks and stones. "No, Flora. It isn't. Nothing can excuse the fact I acted childish and rude toward you. Though I would like to say I didn't mean what I said acted, it honestly had some truth in it, only it wasn't exactly aimed at you."

"Is it because I remind you of someone you knew? A person you didn't like?" Flora asked. She immediately knew the answers to those two questions the minute she saw the undeniable bitterness in Nathalie's eyes. "By looks or appearance?"

The bitterness intensified dramatically as Nathalie lifted her gaze off the ground and looked at Flora, with a small edgy smile that equally matched the same bitterness in her eyes. "Both, though the looks have a stronger resemblance than the personalities. So exactly the same, it would be far too easy for someone to mistake you as her twin. But as far as personalities go…let's just say I consider you the before, when this certain person used to so tender and warm. She was the most mature of her group of friends and was also very insecure and shy. But she was so sweet and kind, cared for nearly everything and everyone, and had an unbreakable bond with nature." The more she talked, the more her smile would wither until it was completely erased from her face, leaving it with only painful sorrow and agony traveling back to many years.

Flora couldn't help squirming a bit by the deep pit in her stomach growing more and more deeper and chilled as she listened to Nathalie's words about the girl who closely resemblances her. In fact, the more she was listening to Nathalie, she couldn't get rid of the sickening feeling the girl, whom Nathalie seemed to loathe more than anything, sounded a lot…like her when she was apparently good before. "And afterwards, she became a completely different person." She said, figuring she could only know what happened to the girl who used to be as sweet as honey. The way Nathalie was talking about gave Flora the impression something changed her and turned her into something the exact opposite of whom she was before. Something darkening her tender personality and turning her into someone much colder and harsher, who probably doesn't only smile at pain but also embraces it. Like a witch.

"That's correct." Nathalie nodded, and Flora could tell by the distant gaze in her eyes she was looking back on memory. And, judging by the way her sullen face was slowly crumbling up, some of those memories were bringing back painful grief to her. "Seeing her transformation was completely shocking to us all. It was so shocking how someone so good and warm like sunshine, who was motherly toward her friends and wouldn't hesitate to put others and their feelings before her very own, turn into something so…_cruel_ and absolutely awful. It was heartbreaking to us all."

"May I ask you something?" When Nathalie nodded, Flora continued "What was it that changed her? I really can't understand how someone who used to be so kind could be something so cold."

Nathalie seemed to have control of herself, because she blinked once as she straightened her crumbled face into firm seriousness and had sudden harsh intensity in her eyes. She stared at Flora harshly with those firm eyes, which held so much knowingly wisdom going far beyond her age and into years. Looking into her eyes was like into looking into centuries and centuries of intelligence. "Magical powers are extraordinary. Having power for one to possess and have as their own gives them strength and is like a shield of armor to protect you. And also makes any fairy, witch, or wizard equally strong, not matter what source their powers come from. Each power is equally strong, but it all depends on the person who possesses it on how they wish it use it. For most powers that is true, but I'm afraid for others it's not that simple."

"What you mean, Nathalie? That for certain powers, the person can't always possess it and loses control of it?" Flora questioned.

Nathalie cracked a tiny smile, finding it a tad amusing how the girl was so naive about the way some powers work. "Yeah, that's exactly what I mean. What you, your friends, all girls here at Alfea and girls at Cloud Tower, and every person willing to learn more about their powers and wish to grow stronger need to know that there are certain powers very strong and is nearly impossible someone to handle on their own. So strong, the power develops a will of their own and anyone who tries to control them just end up being controlled by them. Those people are considered fools to me. They will have strong power, yes, but will also be nothing but mere puppets at the power's will."

_So strong enough, they could probably make a kind fairy do awful deeds_, Flora thought as she waited for Nathalie's words to set in. She recalled Miss Faragonda telling them a similar story about what happened to Lord Darkar, telling the girls how he was just a simple man who went into Shadow Haunt, the dangerous underground kingdom where the power of the Shadow fire lies deep within, pulsing through the cracks and just waiting for someone foolish enough to seek its' power. Lord Darkar was the fool, and he believed he was strong enough to control the power. But instead of him controlling the power, the Shadow fire feed on him like he was food, traveling through his body and mentally consuming him. He had gained the dark power and fell under its' dark spell, turning him into an evil tyrant known as Lord Darkar, king of Shadow Haunt.

"Is that what happened to the girl?" Flora asked, looking down at the floor and started feeling queasy as uneasiness settled hard into her stomach. Hearing about how dark power could have someone be used as the power's puppet and Nathalie talking how the girl used to so sweet before she became cold and wicked gave Flora the perfect idea about what happened to her. She probably thought she could control a dark power, much like Lord Darkar believed he could, but instead ended up being controlled by the power.

It was nearly impossible not to notice the chillness icing Nathalie's eyes, the bitter anger burning in her blazing eyes Flora nearly found intimidating. "Dark Magic is very manipulative and a person can be easily controlled by them. That, along with greed, played a very big part in the girl's aftermath. She wanted extra power because she felt like her own Winx power weren't strong enough and was very jealous of the different abilities her friends could do."

"She was jealous?" Flora said.

"Very!" Nathalie empathized, narrowing her blazing eyes on cue. "She was a master of hiding her emotions. Anything that wasn't comforting, peaceful, or had some cheer in it, she would silenced them and keep those feelings buried in her heart. At first the jealously started out as a small pinch in her heart, but soon grew more and more powerful till it completely swallowed her whole."

Flora felt a lump in her throat the size of a big stone forming in her throat, and sickening nausea was churning her stomach. Jealousy and dark magic. Those words were causing confusion to spin wildly around her head, turning around and around so fast she felt so dizzy and was seconds away from throwing up. Those were the things that were changed the girl and turned her very dark. Changed the girl into something cruel and heartless, changed _her_.

She placed her hands over her head and squeezed tightly as she shut her eyes, trying to will the spinning to stop. She felt so sick like she couldn't even breath and was being spilt into two. She felt that strange jolt creeping into her skin and sinking deep in her veins.

Behind her closed eyes, she could see a picture forming into her mind. It was the same setting as the previous vision she was afraid of earlier: the sun lost in eternal blackness, the sky no longer bright and beautiful blue but instead was blooded red, and the whole realm of Magix engulfed by red and black colored flames, burning everything in sight, and everything that was ever a place now rescued to destroyed ruins. She saw herself there in the crimson sky, levitating over a hundred feet in the air and was high enough for anyone who was running for their lives to see her.

A powerful sharp wind ran through the air's current and encircled around her like a vortex, creating a strong tornado big enough to destroy everything. There was dark colors starting to show in the harsh wind, spilling onto the colorless chill and spreading fast, and soon the tornado's color was completely swallowed up by the darkened colors. Her arms were spread wide, her feet placed firmly together, and her head was threw back as she let put a powerfully loud shriek from her wide-opened mouth.

Red colors began slashing across her bare arms and legs, also baring a mark on her forehead, caused by the black energy. Up closer, the red colors began forming into letters in Gothic italicizes that were so vaguely familiar to her memory and finally blazed onto her forehead was the infamous sinister 'S'. When she opened her eyes, they were no longer emerald green. They weren't even to be considered eyes anymore. There was no pupils or irises, just black balls quickly brightening into silver before taking on a ruby color.

Her opened eyes looked up to sky and shot fiery red beams to the high heavens, gathering up all the energy and around her. The black energy massively increased and was spreading wide, stretching out the length of the whole sky.

A gigantic raven, created from the dark energy, was hovering in the air, looming over like a fearsome god and was becoming one with her. The bird's beauty was both breathtaking and frightening, the color so dark it was midnight. The wings were opened wide, as if she was about to take flight, and her beak opened wide to shriek her eerie sound.

"_STOP!!!!!_" Flora yelled practically at the top of her lungs, shooting up from her seat and quickly opened her eyes. Her heart was doing overtime by its' fast and loud beating, nearly bursting from her chest, her shoulders were hunched over and her chest was heaving from the shock.

Nathalie eyed her with suspicious curiosity, and Flora wondered if she had any idea what she saw in her head. "Is everything alright?" When she didn't get an answer, she stood up from the bench and took small steps toward her, her left hand reaching out for Flora's shoulder. "Flora, what is the matter? What happened?"

Flora's eyes were widen in both shock and fear, her steps and movements were terribly shaken, and she felt the pit in her stomach becoming deep as a giant pot-hole. She couldn't even think or breathe, much less talk. She pointed her finger at Nathalie as she backed more and more away from her and yelled breathlessly, "You stay the hell away from me!"

"Flora, I think I know what you just saw. I know all about it, and I want to hell you. So, please-"

"STAY THE HELL AWAY!" Flora immediately took off, mustering all the speed and strength in her legs to make her run as fast as she could and ignoring Nathalie calling for her to come back. She wasn't going to stop, she felt like she shouldn't even bother stopping. She just wanted this all to go away: the stranger constantly haunting her mind, the marks, the event that took place this afternoon, and the visions which were possibly never going to leave her mind. The vision she saw in her head was even more scary and powerful than the last one she saw, and it was mostly scary because it was something she saw much more clearly.

When she ran back to the dorm room, she could see she was interrupting a very fun party. Her friends were already in their outing clothes, their hair re-spelled and done, and their makeup re-freshen. They were dancing along to the music being played on Musa's stereo and having fun as they were getting ready. But she could felt the room's aura being shifted from light to serious, the minute she entered the door and could feel their shock eyes felling upon her as they caught sight of her.

She only stared at them through her eyes filled with hot tears and blinded by the tears, as she entered into the room, closed the door behind her, and leaned her back against it and was sinking down to the floor.

Musa quickly turned off the music, and the girls stopped whatever they were doing before they ran over to her and joined in a big group hug, trying to comfort their friend. They all held onto each other tighter and tighter when Flora's cries turned into heavy, loud sobs.

Bloom slowly pulled back from the hug, stood up and went over to the coffee table to get a box of tissues, and handed them to Flora. Kneeling down in front of her and watching her wipe her tears away from her eyes, she asked "What's wrong, Flora? Did something happen?"

_You could say that again_, Flora thought miserably as she blew her nose into her third tissue, crumpled it up and tossed it in the nearest trashcan, and used a fresh one to wipe away more of her tears.

Stella's blood boiled when she remembered Nathalie's hard gaze focusing all its' attention on Flora. "That crabby old woman had something to do with this, didn't she? She did something horrible to you, didn't she?" Before Flora could explain, she already held out her hand and cut off her. "Don't even bother explaining, I already know the answer to that question. I'm so going to get her the next time I see that face of hers."

"Stella," Bloom said, in a stern warning voice. "We can't just jump to conclusions. We need to let Flora let out all her tears and give her a minute to calm down before she tells us-"

"_Forget about that crap!_" Stella exclaimed, getting up on her feet and practically yelling at Bloom's face. The girls were surprised by her sudden snap, and Bloom looked just about pissed-off as Stella did. "Unlike you, Miss I-think-I'm-all-that-cause-I-have-some-stupid-powers, I don't plan to sit around and let someone diss Flora. Anyone who disses one of my friends gets to have a hot taste of Solaria sun power. It's so typically of you to stay quiet, because you're so scared of getting in trouble and letting the teachers know you have a back bone in that little kiss-up, teacher-pet ass of yours!"

Layla, Tecna, and Musa all had their mouths dropped wide by the fierce insult. Flora was able to calm down her sobs and was now silently crying with tears rolling down her cheeks she used tissues to dry off. She was still a bit too choke up to speak, but was in as much shock as others by Stella's mean-girl diss.

But none of their reactions could compare to Bloom's. Her aqua blue eyes, which were normally filled with patience, were blazing in anger, and her balled-up hands were glowing in a firing red color. It was a good thing she had some patience left within her, otherwise something told them Stella would have fireballs hurling at her. But she wasn't going to sit down and be insulted neither. She stood up and crossed her arms against her chest, frowning at Stella's scowled face.

"Well, it's obvious you don't seem to care at all what teachers think," Bloom said. "If you did, then maybe you wouldn't have blown up the potions lab when you were in freshmen year, gotten held back, and would have already graduated from the school. But no, because you decided that being a princess gave you an extra privilege and allowed to do whatever you want. You may be our friend, Stella, but sometimes it hard to see you as a friend when you threw your own rude comments and insults at us and blurt things out without stopping for a moment to think about how it could affect someone. This may comes as a shock to you, but the way you act only tells people you're a over pampered, rotten to the core, spoiled little _princess-brat_!"

"Oh, she didn't." Layla whispered.

"Oh, yes she did." Musa replied.

Stella looked as if she just received the biggest slap hard in the face, looking stunned for a minute or two before her face hardened into a fierce scowl. "I know you _did not_ just go there!" She said, her tone dripping with ice-cold deadly venom, as she walked closer to Bloom.

Bloom took steps closer and closed the distance between them. "Well, then I suggest you start believing because I just did."

The girls gave each the darkest, most deadly looks they mustered up, and Tecna could feel a Winx cat-fight precisely ten seconds away from happening. She stepped into the plate and blocked both girls from getting to each other, trying to think of a way to resolve the problem and focus on helping Flora. "Girls, you're best friends. You've been since you met each other and I hope will stay that way even after we graduate and have to go our separate ways. Try to remember we're friends and a team, so I suggest you two try to recall that and call a truce." She told them.

Stella and Bloom were a in staring face-off the minute Tecna let her arms down and got out of their way. Their lips were in a tight frown and their eyes were narrowed. They stayed like that for the longest time, until finally their defensive, hard faces softened and Bloom cracked a very small smile and stuck out her hand, as a sign of truce. Stella eyed the hand suspiciously till her face softened into a smile and she reached for Bloom's hand. They smiled at each other as they shook on it and shared a big hug. The rest of the girls smiled and applauded, being touched by the tender moment and glad truce was made.

"I'm so glad you two were able to call a truce." Flora managed to give a small smile as she wiped more tears from her eyes.

The girls quickly remembered they still had Flora's problem to deal with and try to figure out what happened. They sat back down in a circle and waited patiently for Flora to calm herself down and finish letting all the tears out before they could ask any questions.

"Better?" Bloom asked, and when Flora nodded, she continued speaking "Tell us what happened Flora. We're your friends and we're not going to judge you, no matter how bad you think it might be."

"Did Nathalie have anything to do with it? Did she say something nasty? Do something bad?" Stella was still convinced Nathalie had done something to make Flora gravely upset, but asked in a more soothing, gentle tone.

"No Nathalie didn't have anything to do with it." Flora answered, her eyes looking down at the floor. Her expression grew more and more saddened as she told her friends what happened to her during her walk with Nathalie. She saved the vision she saw in her head for last and put in as much detail as she could remember about it. When she was done talking, the girls gasped loudly and looked at her dumbfounded.

"Whoa!" That seemed like the best word Musa could say when Flora told them what happened, finding the whole thing shocking. Especially the vision. "Insane."

"It was." Flora nodded her head gravely.

"And you're sure Nathalie had nothing to do with it?" Layla questioned. "Because the last you had a strange vision, it was caused by a blazed touch from stalker boy."

"The difference between the visions was that, unlike the first one, a physical contact wasn't even needed to show me the second one. Nathalie was sitting right across from me and talking about dark power's influence and the girl who I reminded her so much about was like before dark power and jealously turned her into something much colder and darker. The more and more I listened to her talk, the more sickening my stomach would feel like and then I felt that strange jolt creeping within my body. But this vision scared me ten times bigger than the first one, and felt so real." Flora explained, shuddering right at the spot when a quick flashback of the second vision replayed in her mind.

Tecna was silent as she was lost in her thoughts and had her arms crossed against her chest. The idea going through Flora's mind was the some thought crossing hers: what was happening now was way too weird to be just a coincidence. "What's happening is frankly too weird to be considered a coincidence. The strange man who followed Flora yesterday to the bus station, the chilled aura and vibe Amore sensed in that bizarre-looking rose petal, the strange mark untraceable on the magical world-wide web, and how Flora saw two strange visions, one which featured her. I'm trying to analyze over and over in my head, but so far I can't get any explanation for this predicament."

"It obviously has something to do with Flora." Layla answered.

"But why, though?" Musa questioned, wanting very much to know the answer to that.

"I don't why, girls," Flora said, her gaze still concentrating on the floor and felt their eyes focusing on her. "But Tecna and Layla are right. Whatever is happening is much too freaky to be a coincidence and is focusing all its' attention on me. Danger is really close by. I can tell and also feel it. And this one is stronger than any villain we have ever met."

**Author's Note: This is only the first part of the whole, long chapter. I decided to break it down, because it would be really long to read. Part Two is soon coming up, and you can expect there's going to be an infamous appearance by stalker boy, a urge fight, and a dark secret revealed. Thanks for the nice reviews and keep on reading Dark Angel. **


	6. Chapter 6

Once again, the girls had a cold settling in their stomachs and knew they would soon be facing danger all over again. But for Flora's sake, they decided to stop talking about it and returned to getting ready. The stiffen atmosphere instantly changed the second Musa put back on the stereo and their favorite song was playing.

_I got a pocket,__  
__Got a pocket full of sunshine__  
__I got a love an' I know that it's all mine__  
__Oh, oh whoa oh__  
__Do what you want,__  
__But you never gonna break me,__  
__Sticks an' stones are never gonna shake me__  
__No, oh whoa, oh_

[Chorus]  
_Take me away (take me away)_  
_A secret place (a secret place)_  
_A sweet escape (a sweet escape)_  
_Take me away (take me away)_  
_Take me away (take me away)_  
_To better days (to better days)_  
_Take me away (take me away)_  
_A hiding place (a hiding place)_

The girls grooved to the beat, sometimes grooving solo or dancing with each other, as they were preparing and checking their appearance in the mirror to make sure everything looked good and in order. And since the girls were mostly done getting ready while Flora was out on her walk, they mostly helped her get ready.

"Yikes!" Bloom said, checking the clock and saw it was thirty after seven and Red Fountain jousting tournament already started. Poor Sky must have stayed behind to wait for her. "We're late!" She quickly ran a brush through her hair once more time, deciding it could pass for good, and put on her new blue hair band.

"Relax. The guys should know by now you shouldn't rush beauty. Especially if we want to look good for them." Stella simply said.

Musa used a miniature spell to shrink her performing clothes and folded them neatly inside her small, black bag, planning to later undo the spell and return them to normal size when it was time for her to sing. "Somehow, Stel, I seriously doubt that. Some boys may act like they don't mind waiting for a girl to come, but really it drives them crazy."

"Actually, Musa, about more than 75% of the male population find tardiness to be unacceptable." Tecna said, as she smoothen out her skirt and checked the mirror once more to make sure everything was right and in order. Seeing everything was okay, she decided she was ready.

"There's absolutely nothing wrong with being fashionably late." Stella insisted.

"I don't know, Stella. It seems a bit rude to me." Flora said, running a brush through her hair and hoped it would stay looking right till the night was over.

"Actually, Flora, Stella is correct. Though most guys don't approve, being fashionably is entirely acceptable nearly everywhere." Tecna informed.

"Besides, the way I see it, the boys have nothing to complain about. They're the ones who wanted to date and a girl arriving late for a date is one of prices of dating they'll have to deal with," Stella winked, taking one last look at her reflection and was quite pleased with what she saw. The outfit she was wearing was ten times cuter than when she first tried it on at the boutique, and she was also proud of the accessories she added to complete the outfit, making it look even more fabulous: the light pink fedora she wore on her head, with her golden hair let down, a diamond-encrusted 'S' pendant that stood for her name, and a pink bedazzled bracelet. As much as this sounds swallow, she really loves looking at her pretty reflection in the mirror and always sees a beautiful, blond-haired princess looking back at her. Dabbing her lips one more time with a coat of pretty in pink lipstick, she smacked her lips together and turned to her friends, with a big smile pasted on her face. "Like I always said, dahlings, appearance is absolutely everything that can either make or break a person. But of course, our appearance is so going to make us rule tonight, because we look _hot_." she said.

The girls finally preyed Stella away from the mirror and they linked arms with each other, smiling and talking about how much they were going to have tonight. When they finally got to Red Fountain, over thirty minutes late, they went over to Western Gate to see their boyfriends waiting right there for them. Some, though, had impatient looks in their eyes.

A smile was immediately spread across Flora's face, the minute she caught sight of Helia. The rest of the girls stood a bit tongue-twisted in a complete love daze when they saw how cute their boyfriends looked in their Specialists uniform they were required to wear for the competition, but will later get to change for the dance.

Like the Winx girls, the Specialists were guys with different personalities so distant; it was hard to believe they were actually friends. But they were the best of friends, bravest group of young heroes willing to do anything to save someone in trouble, and were always willing to help the girls out on missions, no matter how much trouble they would get into with their head master and strict discipline teacher.

The natural leader of the group was Sky, prince of Eraklyon, who was Bloom's boyfriend. He was as much as wonderful as he was cute, with blond hair reaching just about his shoulders, a pair of beautiful blue eyes Bloom could stare at for hours, and a smile that could always and very easily melt her heart. But just because he was a prince, it didn't mean he was spoiled and rotten like most princes who were afraid of doing work their own and getting their hands dirty. He was devoted to his kingdom, brave and resourceful, and always proved to be an avid and tenacious fighter.

Next one, who was considered to be second in command, was Brandon, who also happens to be Sky's royal squire and Stella's honey-bear. He was suave like prince charming, extremely creative when it came to his fencing skills, and was a true gentleman who knew exactly how a girl feels and how she should be treated. He was extremely adorable from head to toe, with his brown hair and kind, warm brown eyes, and was equally broad and muscular like Sky, making him irresistible to Stella and also other girls who admire him from afar.

If you called any one of them out for being the stubborn and aggressive one, Riven would be the winner in ten seconds flat. Sure, he was friends with the guys and part of their team, but was the shadowy one who mostly preferred working on his own and believed he can handle everything on his own. He had really handsome features, an overly muscular fitted body, and spiky hair in a magenta red color. Thing about Riven was that he wasn't really the best at talking about what he's really feeling or about his private life before he came to Red Fountain. It was clear he really cared about his girlfriend, Musa, but mostly had problems showing it.

Timmy, Tecna's boyfriend, was the group's bookworm, who was a master at tactic strategies and resourceful to know the best ways out of problems, especially if they were dealing with digital problems. Like Tecna, he was extremely fascinated by the works of technology and nearly knew everything as much as she did on the subject. He had orangish hair, would be wandering around as blind as a bat if he wasn't wearing his glasses, and was too skinny to be considered broad but also too average to be scrawny either. Like Riven, he often had trouble expressing to his girlfriend how he felt about her and would just bring up the subject of latest computer gadgets or something to distract the discussion about their relationship, which really cooled after that and was close to being ended. Finally they just took a chance, told each other how they felt about each other, and are now happier than ever.

Last, but certainty not least, Nabu, the new wizard around Magix who dis-crowned Helia the title of being the new guy.

When the boys finally saw their girlfriends make their appearance, they were prepared to a demand an explanation for their tardiness but immediately stopped mid-sentence, their mouths dropped wide and their eyes popping wide in stunned shock, when they took their time to take a closer at their girlfriends.

The words insanely drop-dead gorgeous, breathtakingly stunning, and blazing hot were being screamed repeatedly in each boy's head as he looked at his beautiful girlfriend.

"Hiya boys," Stella greeted them, and the girls went over to their boyfriends and received soft kisses on the lips and firm hugs. She only smirked at her tongue-tied boyfriend, who was practically drooling as he was gawking all over her. She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, snuggling up to his chest and then looking into his beautiful, brown eyes smiling at her. "So, you see anything you like?"

"Oh, I most definitely see something very sweet-looking." He eyed her soft pink lips and inhaled the sweet scent of her raspberry lip-gloss. Stella smiled at him, and then their lips joined together in a soft yet deep kiss.

"So does looking hot excuse us for being late?" Musa said with a smile, arching her eyebrow at Riven.

Riven was the most pissed-off about the girls taking forever to get here and kept them waiting, and was ready to say how ridiculous it was for them to take forever to get ready. Only now, seeing how gorgeous and hot Musa looked, his male desires took over and washed over his anger. He tried to maintain a cool front and glared sternly at Musa, but she knew him better than anyone and saw the fainted traces of a smile behind his expressionless eyes. Sighing, he wrapped one arm securely around his girlfriend's waist, placed a quick peck on her soft lips, and led her and their friends into the western wing building, heading straight down toward the stadium. "It does, but still barely. So, you and your friends better consider yourselves lucky."

Musa rolled her eyes at his predicable response, but still pecked him on the cheek. "Whatever keeps you from going crazy, Riven." she said.

"Besides, you girls didn't miss out on too much," Sky informed them. "So far, the professors have making introductions for our special guests and the donators. Saladin is telling them all how Red Fountain was first discovered over thousands of years ago, founded by a small group of elite heroes and sorceres."

"Then it's a really good thing we were late," Stella said. "That story is really getting old, and the man has told the story over a thousand times. I probably would have fallen asleep."

But just before they could enter inside the stadium, which was already filling with people, and enjoy the festivities, Bloom stopped the guys and told them about what happened to her and the girls while they were riding the bus to Magix. Since Helia was the only one who knew the whole story, Bloom went back further in the story, so the others could understand it a bit better.

"_WHAT?!_" They exclaimed, once Bloom was finished.

Helia was bursting with different emotions spiraling inside him. He and guys were deeply concerned about their girls' safety, and now he was more worried about Flora than ever. He placed both hands on her shoulders, pulled her close to him, and asked "Are you okay?"

"I'm alright." She nodded, and wrapped her arms around him, holding onto Helia for dear's sake, and deeply inhaled his sweet, familiar boyish scent, which quickly helped calm her unsettling nerves. He could tell how uneasy and a bit shaken up she was and held her more tightly in his arms, gently stroking her hair and whispering calming words into her ear.

"You girls have nothing to worry about. This is the kind of thing we, Specialists, specialize in." Sky told him, his confident enthusiasm almost inspiring.

Tecna took out her hand-held and immediately got to work typing in the percentages of male blonds presented in the large crowd, her guess of the probably time the stalker would make his appearance, and how much of a chance they have of finding him through the hug sea of people. She said "According to my hand held, they're about 88.8% blond-haired guys present here, also including you, Sky. Musa made a good point saying he could strike during the dance, and, if my calculations are correct, there's a solid 11.2% chance he'll be likely to crash as soon as Musa is done with her song. We likely have to have more or less, though it seems more like less, a 50% chance of finding and stopping him."

"And also have him explain what the heck is going on." Layla added.

"Alright, then. Remember we have to keep our eyes open and look out for anything suspicious." Bloom said, and they all nodded in agreement.

The Red Fountain stadium was amazingly massive, in both width and height length, with more than enough room to fit over twenty to thirty thousands. Seated in the reserved wing were teachers from Alfea, Cloud Tower, and Red Fountain, along with donators from different realms who donated lots of money to the school. To Bloom's displeasure, Sky's ex-fiancée, princess Diaspro, was presented in the crowds, looking every bit of nasty as she was on the inside as beautiful on the outside than ever.

The first time Bloom met Diaspro, she thought the girl was Icy in disguise and fought her, disturbing the event going on at Red Fountain and knocking the princess hard to the ground with a blast from her fireballs. It was Diaspro who was the one who told Bloom who Sky really was, because the prince had switched identities with his squire and pretended to be Brandon, so he could have a little more freedom, and yelled how she was his future wife to be. Bloom was heartbroken by the lie Sky told her and the fact he left out the tiny detail he was engaged to be married while he was still going out with her. Sky immediately broke off the engagement because he already fallen in love with Bloom, and the two were able to work out their relationship. But of course that didn't mean Diaspro gotten over her ex-fiancé, and hated Bloom with a loathing passion for ruining their engagement.

The princess had tried multiple times breaking up the couple, proving how much of an evil witch she was. Bloom could never forget how Diaspro poured an evil potion into Sky's drink at a recent party taking place in his kingdom, had him under a dark spell and under her control, and made him believe he was still in love with her and she commanded him to have Bloom and her friends arrested. And Sky, being a puppet to her commands, did not only that but also broke Bloom's poor heart, splitting it into two painful pieces. Luckily the girls were able to break the spell with their fairy dust from their Enchantix wings, a powerful healing resource strong enough to heal and cure anything, including dark spells, and Sky was back to his old self. Not only did he sincerely apologize for his unforgivable behavior, he also banished Diaspora from Eraklyon-_permanently_.

Bloom was more than happy about her banishment, but seeing Diaspro sitting only a few feet away from her and Sky, uneasiness began churning in her stomach. She was going to keep it cool for now, but if Diaspora tried to do anything or as so much flirted with Sky, then a huge fireball was going to be hurling her way.

Diaspro felt Bloom's eyes boring holes into her head, turned to meet her gaze, and shot Bloom a chilled, dark glare. If looks really could kill, then Bloom would be collapsing onto the ground in two seconds. She dismissed the fire-powered fairy with a flip of her long, curly blond hair and then turned to Sky, who had his arm wrapped around Bloom's shoulder, and the dark look on her face morphed into a smug smirk. She waved innocently at him, as if he was still an old friend of hers, and blew a kiss his way, making Bloom want to do nothing more than to burn her with a fireball.

"Why is she even here?" Stella whispered into Brandon's ear and nodded her head toward Diaspro. "Isn't she banned?"

"From Eraklyon, yes. Here, unfortunately no," Brandon whispered, also not pleased at all by Disprao's presence. "But her dad is one of the biggest trustees who donates tons of money toward the school every year, and practically pays for over a dozen scholarships. He's invited here as a will of good gesture, and Diaspro apparently decided to tag along with him for this year."

"To, no doubt, start trouble between her two favorite lovebirds." Layla said, gesturing her hand toward Bloom and Sky, who were having a tension moment chilling between them.

It was soon time for the boys to join the show and the girls to take their seats, so the group went their separate ways. To begin the event, a group of seniors, dressed in only baggy khakis and had red symbols painted on their faces, performed the school's traditional dance of flames. With two sharp spears burning hot, bright flames in each hand, the boys performed various astonishing tricks and stunts that looked impossible to do as they were juggling their fire. Twirling their fiery spears around and around, they did spins and flips, amazing tricks without ever letting go of their spears or getting burned by the fire; the boys gave quite a show that had the whole crowd cheering loudly for them. By the end of the show, the boys gathered together in a circle and twirled their spears one more time before tossing them high in the air, twirling around in a flaming circle and bursting into stunning fireworks.

"That's so amazing." Layla said, watching fireworks spark different, bright colors in the sky.

"Incredible." Tecna said.

"Fantastic." Flora said.

After the amazing fire dance, the real tournament began. The girls, along with the teachers, watched with pride as their guys stepped into the battlefield and faced each other, fighting till the end. Timmy and Nabu took their fight to the sky during the dragon-flying event, flying on the backs of huge dragons while fighting two seniors in their class who were specialize in this event. But by working together as a team, the guys were victorious and able to beat their opponents.

"Alright Nabu!" Layla cheered, along with crowd.

"Well done Timmy." Tecna cried.

Up next was the fencing competition, and Brandon was up against a senior from a neighboring heroic school, who was rumored to have a hot-headed, arrogant attitude about fencing and was the best there is. Stella could see her sweetheart had beads of nervous sweat on his forehead, but knew confidently her dahling would win.

"I'm nervous, Sky," Brandon confessed to his best friend as he was getting ready. "Word is this dude is unbeatable and anyone who ever went against him only lasted a few seconds in the fight."

"No worries. He may be good, but you're just as good-maybe even better. And remember what they taught us in battle class: don't think, let your instincts take control and follow it. I have total confidence in you." He smiled, giving his friend a thumbs-up.

Brandon and his fencing rival, known as Todd the wit, shook a firm handshake and looked at each other coldly, challenging one another through communication with their eyes. As soon as they let go of each other's hands, Todd wasted no time taking out his sword and knocking Brandon onto the ground with a clean swipe of his sword.

"FOUL! That was a direct foul!" Stella screamed, outraged. She turned to the girls and asked "Isn't that a foul?"

"Technically yes it is, but also again is not." Tecna answered.

Stella was more confused than mad by her answer. She placed both hands on her hips and asked "What exactly do you mean?"

"It's considered a foul, because they were shaking their hands in a truce and he immediately caught Brandon off guard. But then again is also considered not a direct foul, because this is a competition, and the fighters are required to do whatever that's necessary to take down their opponent. That also includes taking the opponent down when he's caught off guard." Tecna explained.

Stella huffed and folded her arms against her chest; still keeping her eyes on her darling snookums who was lying on the floor, with a slight stunned astonishment in his expression, and slowly got back on his feet. Her worried eyes lit up with relief as she watched him get back on his feet and now armed with his sword.

"That was low, dude." Brandon told his opponent, who smirked at the comment.

"Ever heard the term '_all is fair in love and war_.' Well, considered this war and I'm going to be wiping the floor with you in less than a minute." Todd replied, that smug smirk spreading wide across his face. He twirled his sword around and held it in front of him, the tip an inch away from Brandon's chest. "I know you heard about me, squire boy, and so that means you know how good I am at fencing. You might as well give up now."

_Does this dude ever shut up!?_ Brandon thought, realizing how Todd wasted all this time talking about himself instead of taking him down. Luckily, for him anyway, he took Todd's arrogance as an opportunity to get even and take him down. With a clean swipe of his sword, Brandon knocked Todd's right out from his hand and used his left foot to jab Todd hard on the right side, knocking him hard onto the ground.

Loud cheers and appraise was coming from the audience, especially from Stella, who was cheering the loudest. But the match wasn't over yet, because Todd quickly got back on his feet and grabbed his sword, his cold eyes blazing in anger.

"That does it! You're going down, squire-boy!" He said.

"Bring it on!" Brandon proclaimed.

The fight had the attention of the whole audience, whose eyes were unable to leave the fight for a moment. Both boys' strengths and fighting skills were easily matched, and the same determination not to go down until the other did first.

Finally Brandon ended the match by distracting Todd with a high toss of his sword in the air and then quickly pounced on him, catching him off guard by the sudden move and tackled him onto the ground. He held Todd's arms over his head and straddled him, making it impossible for him to get back and rendering him powerless.

Brandon had won, Todd was fuming from the humiliating defeat, and the crowd burst into loud cheers.

Next up was the extreme fighting event where, just like the previous match, fighters were required to do anything possible to take down their opponent. But unlike the fencing match where both fighters each took over several falls to the ground, the first one to hit the ground will lose while the one who took him down wins. The two who were competing in that event were Sky and Riven, the two most skilled fighters in their fighting classes and were both excellent swordsmen, which made them as much as rivals as they were friends. Only Riven takes the competitive thing much more serious than Sky does and was even more crabby than usual whenever he loses.

"Remember, Riven, this is a friendly fight-off and we called a truce. So, I don't want you to pout and act like a poor sport when I win." Sky joked, as he and Riven were standing a few feet apart and faced each other, armed with their swords and determination in their eyes. They looked more than ready to fight.

"You mean _if _you win! You better watch yourself, prince-boy, because I'm taking you down." Riven smirked, already bringing out a smoke bomb and setting it off. The whole place was covered with thick smoke, making it impossible to even see or breathe. Sky tried to look through the mass of smoke to find Riven while coughing up a bit after accidentally breathing in a huge gulp. He felt something hitting him hard in the stomach, which he could only assume was Riven's fist, but was able to withstand the blow and remain on his feet.

Finally the smoke cleared and Sky was able see again. He saw Riven's foot was swinging in for another kick, but quickly dodged it just in time.

Bloom held onto her breathe, worried about Sky. Musa, on the other hand, was just chilling as she watched the boys fight it out. Even before she was his girlfriend, she was already used to Riven's serious, competitive ways and knew the reasons behind them were because he wanted to prove himself as a fighter. That, and also he wanted to impress her.

The duel was a real crowd-pleaser that held everyone's attention and eyes on them. Both boys were at the top of their class and game, knew each other's best strengths and weakness, deflected off each other's attacks and were determined not to fall. The fight went on and on practically forever but finally ended when Sky kicked Riven hard in the gut, knocking him backwards onto the ground.

Bloom was the first one to jump out from her seat and cheered loud for Sky, the rest of the crowd following her example and also cheered. Musa also cheered for Sky's victory, but was worried how Riven was going to take his defeat. Knowing him, acting like a huge grouch seemed more like his type of style.

Sky took several bows and beamed proudly at the audience, shooting an even special wink to Bloom, who giggled and shot him back a sly one. He then returned his attention to Riven, who was still lying flat on the ground, and helped him get back on his feet. "Good game, alright." He said, sticking out his hand and waiting for Riven to shake it.

Riven looked like he wasn't in the mood for a truce handshake, and the dark chill in his eyes that were burning holes into Sky's head showed exactly what he would rather do instead. But he knew having a grouch-like fit would only make things worse and him looking like a poor sport and pathetic, so he decided to do the mature thing and shook Sky's hand, adding extra firmness to the shake. "Enjoy the victory while you can, because next time you're going down _quick_ and _hard_."

"Then I guess we're going to have to wait and see." Sky smirked.

Helia was the only one who didn't get to participate in the jousting tournament, but he would always spot his Flora through the crowd and return her blushing smiles and waves with his own winks. The tournament was a huge success, completed with amazing fighting, awesome stunts and tricks, and the boys really showed what Red Fountain was all about. As soon as it was over, the girls rushed over to congratulate their guys on a well done and the party moved to the huge spaced-out quad, with more than enough room for thousands of people to be dancing and socializing.

The place was lit up by bright-colored lights hanging on the tree branches, blinking in different shades of colors, a buffet of barbecued food and cold drinks by the left side while resting chairs were scattered by the right. The middle of the quad was the huge dance floor where lots and lots of dancing was going on with DJ Hot mix, a famous and brilliant DJ known throughout all the realms for his brilliance on the turn tables, and was playing hot music on the stage where Musa would soon be doing her song with the music blasting from the loud speakers.

Just as they planned, the girls and guys kept their eyes open for anything suspicious but also enjoyed themselves at the party and were having fun. The girls wasted no time grooving on the dance floor and showing off some serious dance moves, with Tecna moving with hesitated uncertainty before relaxing as she danced along with one of her friends. When the boys were done stuffing their faces with food, they went onto the dance floor to join their girlfriends, including Riven, who didn't dance and couldn't if his own life depended on it, but only would make a fool of himself anytime for Musa.

They grooved through several songs, sometimes dancing with one another or dancing solo, but occasionally someone would take a quick break from dancing to grabbed a quick bite or drink at the snack stand before coming right back and dancing some more. Layla and Musa completely lost themselves in their favorite pop song, _Telephone_, letting the rhythm sink deep in their veins and wasn't long before they were slaves to the music, leading the entire dance floor into a group dance routine.

Musa then checked the time and saw it was nearly time for her to give her performance. "I better go get ready. Catch you guys on the flip side." she said, waving to her friends before she ran off to backstage.

"Break a leg!" Layla cried after her.

"Make us look good and proud, doll!" Stella said.

"She doesn't even need luck, you guys, because she's already good." Bloom told them.

"Actually, Bloom, it's scientifically proven a performer does ten times better performing when they're given some encouragement from their friends." Timmy said.

They moved closer to the stage to get a better view and DJ Hot mix slowly stopped playing the music as soon as he was given a signal from Cordatora, a professor in the boys' fighting classes who was one tough overly-buffed teacher you didn't want to mess with. Cordatora then stepped onstage and took the microphone and tapped it lightly to see if it was working, proven it was working just fine after hearing a loud shrieking. "Thank you ladies and gentlemen for joining us on these amazing festivities. It was enjoyable and remarkable, and I'm pleased to say our boys made us very proud. Give yourselves a hand."

The people clapped loudly for the boys again, and they all sheepishly took their bows with some blushes on a few of their faces.

"Very nice," Cordatora commented. "Anyway, without any further to do, I like to introduce you to a very talented student, who's a real favorite of the crowd and will only not be performing one, but two songs. She's someone who I predicted will be very successful in the music business. Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for Musa." The girls immediately cheered and clapped, along with everyone else, even though nothing happened yet and Cordatora made his exit.

Musa was alright and ready backstage. Along with her band that was set with their instruments, winking to signal they were ready. Her backup dancers, two girls and two guys she was friends with from dance class, were dressed in their costumes and doing some warm-up stretches. Musa was dressed in her black and pink performing outfit, which gotten some nice fashion comments from the girls, and her bone-straight, long, blackish-blue hair was let down and wore her wireless headset.

She was doing some stretches and vocal exercises, but couldn't shake the feeling of small nervousness churning in her stomach, which seemed ridiculous and irritated her a bit. Performing was in her blood and she knew she had no reason to be nervous, but that still didn't stop from getting the nervous case of butterflies in her stomach. But there was no reason for it. She has been performing practically forever and knew how to give a good performance without going over the top and being too flashy like some other singers she had seen do at their concerts. She hoped this one would be alright and, whatever she was right now, her mother's spirit would be with her tonight and be proud. _Please be with me, mom, _she thought, feeling her eyes burning a bit and reliving familiar grief washing over her like waves as she thought about her mom.

The loud applaud and praise from the audience fell into a dead silence the minute the curtains opened, revealing the band and the dancers standing still in the corners of the dark stages and Musa standing in the center. A snap of her fingers, a dark blue glow came from the stage and the crowd erupted into frenzied cheers. Another bedazzling display of bright lights illustrating the dark stage, brightening it with the same blinking colors hanging from the ceiling.

A quick nod from Musa, the drummer wasted no time starting off the beat. So after that, the keyboard player and bass player joined in sounds and were swaying along to the awesome beat, and the lastly the guitarist added his electric guitar to the sound, making the beat more completed and better now that it was a whole group sound. The dancers soon got into the groove and started showing off their amazing moves they've been rehearsing for days with different dancing influences, looking carefree and letting loose.

Musa was the only one left unmoving onstage while the guys were rocking hard on their instruments and her dancers were letting themselves become slaves to the beat. She was remaining motionless because she was taking her time to listen to the beat, the sounds of her friends and people cheering for her, and the noise of the dancers' beat sink in deep within her, before she came out and gave it her all.

_You may find me just a little strange__  
__I like dancing barefoot in the pouring rain__  
__My mind is racing at the speed of light__  
__I'll dance around you like a satellite_

_I'm reckless_  
_Your speechless_

_Scream, shout, I love it loud_  
_I feel the need to stand out in the crowd_  
_Nothing's wrong with me_  
_Nothing's wrong with me_  
_Freak out, I stand my ground_  
_Nothing in the world is gonna keep me down_  
_Nothing's wrong with me_

_I say some things that might not come out right_  
_I say them loud, and proud, and impolite_  
_Don't try to analyze, or be profound_  
_Cause life's too short to be so tightly wound_

_I'm reckless_  
_Your speechless_

_Scream, shout, I love it loud__  
__I feel the need to stand out in the crowd__  
__Nothing's wrong with me__  
__Nothing's wrong with me__  
__Freak out, I stand my ground__  
__Nothing in the world is gonna keep me down__  
__Nothing's wrong with me_

_I can smile,_  
_And I let it be_  
_Cause I know that nothing's wrong with me_  
_Wrong with me, wrong with me, wrong with me_  
_If you ask about my attitude_  
_I'll say come on,_  
_Just get a clue_

_Scream, shout, I love it loud__  
__I feel the need to stand out in the crowd,__  
__Nothing's wrong with me__  
__Nothing's wrong with me__  
__Freak out, I stand my ground__  
__Nothing in the world is gonna keep me down__  
__Nothing's wrong with me (Nothing's wrong with me)__  
__Nothing's wrong with me__  
__Nothing's wrong with me (Nothing's wrong with me)_

She danced fantastically, being careless and letting loose, which was the perfect mood for the melody of her song. She'd danced along with her dancers and would sometimes strutted her stuff across stage, smiling at the screaming audience and her friends as the cheers got higher and higher while she performed her next song.

_Here I am__  
__Once again__  
__Feeling lost but now and then_

_I breath it in_  
_To let it go_

_And you don't know where you are now_  
_Or what it would come to_  
_If only somebody could hear_

_When you figure out how_  
_You lost in the moment_  
_You disappear_

Her dancers encircled around her, posing and freezing in unison, but finally breaking up the minute she hit the perfect high note as she sang 'Disappear'.

_(Chorus)__  
__You don't have to be afraid__  
__To put your dream in action__  
__You're never gonna fade__  
__You'll be the main attraction_

_Not a fantasy_  
_Just remember me_  
_When it turns out right_

_Cause you know that if your living_  
_Your imagination_  
_Tomorrow you'll_  
_Be everybody's fascination_

_In my victory__  
__Just remember me__  
__When I make it shine_

_(Shine)_

_Reaching high_  
_Feeling low_  
_I'm holding on but letting go_

_I'd like to shine_  
_I'll shine for you_

_And it's time to show the world how_  
_It's a little bit closer_  
_As long as I'm ready to go_

_All we have is right now_  
_As long as you feel it inside you know_

_You don't have to be afraid__  
__To put your dream in action__  
__You're never gonna fade__  
__You'll be the main attraction_

_Not a fantasy_  
_Just remember me_  
_When it turns out right_

_Cause you know that if your living_  
_Your imagination_  
_Tomorrow you'll_  
_Be everybody's fascination_

_In my victory_  
_Just remember me_  
_When I make it shine_

_Every one can tell you how__  
__When it's all said and done__  
__(Oh woah oh)__  
__And harder times will change your mind__  
__And make you want to run__  
__(Oh woah oh)__  
__But you want it__  
__And you need it__  
__Like you need to breath the air__  
__If they doubt you__  
__Just believe it__  
__That's enough to get you there_

_You don't have to be afraid__  
__To put your dream in action__  
__Your never gonna fade__  
__You'll be the main attraction_

_Not a fantasy_  
_Just remember me_  
_When it turns out right_

_Cause you know that if your living_  
_Your imagination_  
_Tomorrow you'll_  
_Be everybody's fascination_

_In my victory_  
_Just remember me_  
_When I make it shine_

At the end of her performance while she was hitting the final high note of her song, she did a single back flip as she ran over the bass drum, doing three high back flips in the air before landing perfectly on her feet and facing the audience once again with her arms stretched over her head and a proud beam on her face. The great feeling of accomplishment was exhilarating as the sounds of cheers, praise, and applaud washed over her like a triumph wave. She could feel her mom's presence so close to her, giving her a pat on the back and saying how much proud she was of her.

"Thank you, Mom." Musa muttered to herself as she took one last bow before she, her band and dancers took their exits. While DJ Hot mix was returning to the stage and playing some hot beats, Musa and the others were giving each other bone-crushing hugs and high-fives, still feeling more than pumped after their successful show.

"You guys rocked it! You were incredible!" Musa said to them.

"If anyone was really incredible, it was totally you, Musa," said one of the girl back-up dancers named Wanda, a dark-skinned girl who had short neon pink hair that was the perfect color to match her funky personality. "You totally nailed it."

Musa thanked them all for the hard work they put into tonight and told them once again how amazing all of them were, and then went off to be by herself for a moment. With a quick snap of her fingers, a swirl of red twirled around her body and she was changed out of her black and pink performing outfit and back into her red and black outfit she was wearing previously.

She met the others at the buffet table, where they stopped to get a bite of food, and was pulled into a huge group hug by her friends. They all told her how amazing she was onstage, including Riven who had to give it up and went beyond his usual seriousness to tell her how amazing-not to mention gorgeous-he thought she was.

"Thanks guys." She grinned, and gave Riven an extra peck on the cheek and whispering she appreciated his sweet review, causing his cheeks to reddened a bit and almost had him stuttering.

"Do you ever get nervous before you have to go?" Flora asked. She could never imagine herself going onstage in front of thousands and thousands people, having to give a performance when they were millions of eyes watching her every move. She would find herself looking at the ceiling after she blacked out and fainted.

"Nah. I mean, it does put some butterflies in your stomach, but soon goes anyway the minute you hear cheering and once you're in the zone," Musa answered. "Maybe you guys can be my backup dancers for my next show."

Stella could barely hold in her laughter as she just pictured Tecna and Riven, with their two left feet and clumsy-selves, actually trying to dance in front of people without tripping onstage or bumping into someone and stepping on their toes. Seeing something like that wouldn't even be considered a show, it would be more like a comedy routine. "No offense, Tec, but your left feet doesn't even know where your right one is half the time."

Tecna crossed her arms against her chest and frowned, huffing as she turned the opposite direction from Stella. Stella wrapped her arms around Tecna's neck and tried to explain she was only kidding, trying to make that frown on her face turn into a smile.

Brandon patted Tecna's shoulder and said "Don't worry too much about not being the best dancer of the group, Tecna. Besides Riven pretty much has you beaten out of that category," Tecna's frown slowly changed into a tiny smile while the scowl on Riven's face deepened more with anger. Knowing both of this, Brandon continued "In fact, I remember when me and the guys went to a club; Riven was doing the same really weird moves on the dance floor."

Nabu hardly resisted laughing at that memory, feeling Riven's death glare shooting bullets at him and knew he was now on his radar. "He was jumping up and down so much; people thought he was practicing to be a bunny rabbit. He sure has the hop for it."

"Nabu!" Riven exclaimed, his face turning bright red in anger, as everyone else was laughing so hard they needed to lean against each other for support to keep from falling to the ground and tears were running down their cheeks. Nabu and Brandon, however, were cut off when they felt a hard hand smacking them hard upside their heads.

"Ow!" Nabu cried out, as he rubbed his aching head.

"Dang dude! What the hell was that for?!" Brandon asked. He tried rubbing his head, but that only seemed to make the pain throb more badly.

"Because you two are freaking _idiots_!" Riven exploded. "You're my best friends, which means you shouldn't be pests who annoy me constantly."

"Being a best friend requires us annoying you half to death. It would be a sin against centuries of friendship' tradition to break that now." Nabu smiled a bit smugly. That little comment earned himself an even harder smack on the head from Riven.

"Alright everyone," DJ Hot mix said, after _Justin Bieber's Baby_ was done. "We're going to take things slow a bit, so ask your special someone for a dance and hold onto them tight while you two sway to this new song."

Without even taking one glance, with a push of button, _Dreaming Wide Awake_ was softly playing from the speakers. Couples grabbed their partners' hands, led them through to dance floor, the guys wrapped their arms around their girls' waist tightly while the girls entwined their arms around the guys' necks, and were slow-dancing to the music. The group broke into couple pairs and the boys led their girls through the music or in Riven's case, he was struggling to learn the steps but was accidentally stepping on Musa's toes too many times to keep track of the total. Though Musa was patient with him and smiling encouragingly while he still didn't get them right, she decided to do the leading and taught him a few easy steps. After awhile he was becoming more relaxed and held onto her tighter as she led him through the dance.

_When gray meets light__  
__It creates new colors__  
__That stay lost inside__  
__Till they find each other_

_Then the world that you've never seen before_  
_Starts moving in slow motion_

_Am I living now out loud_  
_'Cause I can't hide me from you_  
_And I'm not afraid somehow_  
_To let you see right through me_  
_Wait, I must be dreaming wide awake_

Everything felt so right the moment Flora founded herself being wrapped in Helia's arms and was slow-dancing with him through the song, feeling his arms firmly holding onto her and her arms around his neck. _This feels so nice_, she thought with a smile as she snuggled into his chest and could feel him smiling down at her.

_This world's so real__  
__Like a kaleidoscope made clear__  
__To touch, to feel__  
__What if we made it disappear_

_With just a tangle, you might change_  
_I'd rather breathe this moment_

She thought back to how freaked out she was about coming here and meeting her infamous stalker, now realizing how wrong she was about this night. Just as they promised, her friends stood by her side and never left her alone for a second, Helia was always right there by her side at the dance of the jousting competition and since the dance, and so far the only suspicious thing that has happened so far was Diaspro flirting shamelessly with Sky deliberately right in front of Bloom and offering him countless drinks he turned down.

Bloom, of course, kept her cool but they all couldn't resist casting a ripping spell on her, which caused her new, pretty pink dress to shard into a millions of pieces and showing off more skin than she ever intended or did anyone needed to see. She screamed at the top of her lungs and was crying for her dad to have them leave now while she ran out of the quad.

Flora giggled, remembering how some people took out their camera phones and snapped a few pictures of Diaspro in her shredded dress. Timmy even shot a picture and said how it was going to be the first page for the new yearbook. She normally would have gone to see if Diaspro was okay, but after all the things she had done to them in the past it was time for the princess to have a little taste of her medicine.

_Am I living now out loud__  
__'Cause I can't hide me from you__  
__And I'm not afraid somehow__  
__To let you see right through me__  
__Wait, I must be dreaming wide awake_

From the corner of her eye, she saw Nathalie standing alone by the oak tree while everyone else was dancing with their special someone or just dancing with their friend for the fun of it. She was still wearing that dark blue hooded cloak of hers, with the hood pulled over her head, and looked very sad and lonely with heavy depths of sadness in her eyes. Flora couldn't help remembering how often she saw that deep sadness in the woman's eyes whenever she looked at her friends, as if seeing them brought back horrible memories. But the second she turned to Stella, who was kissing Brandon and giggling as she pulled away from him, Nathalie's eyes held a much lighter emotion that looked almost like....remembrance happiness. But the emotion quickly left as it came, turning into even more deep sadness when she saw looked harder at Stella, as if she was a reminder of someone she was close to but sadly lost.

But when Nathalie caught Flora watching her, her expression scrunched up into a hateful scowl with so much loathing passion clouding over her sad eyes. Only soon, incredibly slowly, would the blazing rage of hatred passed over till it was erased from her face and her eyes now reduced to expressionless. She nodded once to Flora before she turned her head the opposite direction.

Flora sighed as she turned her head the opposite direction and snuggled more into Helia's chest. Despite everything so far going wonderful and well, she still had the small problem with Nathalie to deal with, but after everything what happened the last time they talked she wasn't sure how to handle it. The things Nathalie was talking about how certain powers were able took change the person who possesses them and took control over them, the girl she reminded Nathalie too much of before the girl was changed (supposedly by envious greed for stronger power and dark magic), and the new vision she saw in her head of herself being lifted into the blooded sky and a dark giant raven emerging from the dark energy. Those things caused so much confusion in her head. It was almost seemed like Nathalie knew more about her than she does about herself, which was confusing as much as it was beginning to frighten her.

Helia once again could tell what was going on in her head, and held her extra tighter, running his hand through her hair and saying gently to enjoy the dance. He then, suddenly, lifted her off her feet and carried her in his arms, and spun her around and around, making her laugh breathless from the dizziness she was getting. When he finally let her down, he swiftly dipped her low and slowly brought her back up to him and smiled at her blushing, smiling face.

He bowed before her like the true gentleman he was and she curtsied to him, silently thanking Stella for the princess trainings she was giving the girls, and he pulled her back into him and was rocking her gently while he took the lead.

_My dear, dear Helia_, Flora smiled. He always knew the quickest ways to make her feel better and seemed to know everything about her more than she does about herself. He was so beautiful from the inside out, so sweet and charming, and once again she honestly couldn't believe she got to call him hers. Her dear Helia...her darling _Julio_.

Flora instantaneously pulled slightly back from Helia's sweet embrace, shocked by what she just said and wondering what had just came over her. Where in the world did that name even come from? Julio? It seemed almost familiar, a name almost as beautiful as Helia.

Another strange feeling was washing over her, except this time instead of feeling sick to her stomach and everything spinning around and around the way she felt like with the other two visions, this time radiance of warmth was spreading all over her, as if reliving a time when things were happier, like when she first told her love how much she felt she felt about him.

"_You know, you can't keep hiding from me forever! I'll catch you eventually." Hearing the last part of the sentence made her burst into laughter as she continued to ran through the forest, knowing she'll have to speed up her pace unless she wanted him to be on her trail. _

_Today was truly a glorious morning with the beautiful, glowing sun taking its' rightful place in the center of the sky, which was bright blue and stretched out for wide and wide miles. The wondrous scents of the trees and flowers followed her as she ran faster and faster, holding up the skirts of her simple dress and the wind blowing in her extra long, flowing hair, making her feel ever so beautiful and also carefree. There was nothing she loved more running through the forest, feeling the calm wind in her hair and sunlight shining on her face, and playing her favorite game tag with her new male friend, Julio._

_The plan was for them to meet at their spot in the forest, so he could finally finished the portrait he was working on of her. Today, she chosen to wear her favorite dress, which was sleeveless cream white with patterns of pink roses embellished around the neckline and hem and the new custom-made flat slippers Chelsea had her royal tailor made for her that she was allowed to borrow, and had her friends help with her makeup and tips on how she should wear her hair, which was finally decided to be let down since that was the best look for her. Her friends know how shy and flustering she was around him, and she was grateful for every bit of advice they have given her. _

_Except now, she could see how things turned out to be completely different than what she was going for. When she met him today, she standing motionless and practically mustered in all the strength she had within herself not to faint by his gentle beauty. She realized these deep feelings she has been feeling for him for months now that have buried deep within her heart, which were becoming more and more unbearable each day, were being harder for her to handle on her own now. She wanted today to be the perfect time to tell him how she felt about him while he was standing across her and taking a few glances of her while she was sitting on her high rock and posing naturally for him, explaining how fond she was of him when he takes a long gaze at her. But today was the first day of the spring and she could hardly resist looking all around her to see the beauty nature finally awaken after their long habitation, hardly able to stand still and moved around to take a closer look at the trees and inhaled the flowers' sweet perfume. _

_Julio warned her they was going to be some serious consequences unless she had some control over herself and was able to sit down for a few minutes till they were done with the portrait. But when he meant consequences, she had no idea they would also mean teasing one other and ended up with her being chased by him through the forest. Luckily for her, she knew the forest like she knew her room and her home: she knew every trail, confusing maze, and short cut they were in the back of her head. _

_Suddenly she founded herself being lifted off her feet and carried into two strong arms, which were spinning her around and around till she was laughing from the fun and the dizziness. When she was finally let down, she just stretched out her arms and slowly fell into the soft, green grass, not feeling bit of pain at all since the grass was so comfy and warm like a blanket. _

_She let out a pleasant sigh of calmness when she felt nature at its work, hearing the birds happily chirping and smelling the sweet flowers encircling all around them. She opened one eye to see he was hovering over her, smiling with both the happy expression on his face and the happiness shown in his eyes. _

_She could hardly resist running her hand through his mass of silkily, midnight long hair he preferred to keep in a loose side ponytail resting on his shoulder. The sensual intensity burning within his deep eyes, looking both serious and passionate, and the softness of his lips she wished to feel against hers and experienced the sensations she had dreamt about happening so many times before. His long-sleeved peasant shirt, spotted with a few dirt stains mingling with the white fabric, was half-way open, revealing his toned chest she felt urges to press her hands against to feel their firmness. _

_Looking at him now, she almost forgot who she was and where she was at. She reflected back to how she first met him sitting alone on the high rock while she was out on her weekly morning run through the forest to immediately stop and stare as she caught upon the sight of the most beautiful young man she had ever seen in her life, sitting on one of the high rocks and scribbling into his notebook. The feelings she felt bursting within her were the same feelings she heard from her friends as they told her about their sweethearts and what she read about in romance novels. Feelings when you met someone for the first and your heart's pounding so loudly against your chest for everyone to hear it, your cheeks feeling suddenly warm and turning bright red, and your knees no longer reliable on keeping you steady while you feel sick to the stomach. _

_Of course, she had to lean against a tree to keep her balance but still found herself sinking to the ground and placing her hand over her chest to contain her loud beating heart from beating any louder, which was nearly impossible to mute. Her eyes immediately widened in shock and a loud shriek escaped from lips the moment he turned away from his sketchpad to look at her. The look on his face was intense and serious; she was intimidated by the passion burning in his eyes that made her feel as if she was melting onto the ground. _

_Wordlessly, he left his book at his rock and went over to her, making her heart beat louder and louder with each step he took closer to her, and helped her stand up again. Only he didn't let go of her hand when he held her up, but instead made his grip both gentle and firm, bringing her hand to his lips and placing a soft, lingering kiss on it. _

_Her cheeks were the bright as tomato red and she could barely make her mouth speak a single word, only focused on the fact he was standing in front and the feeling of his soft lips kissing her hand after he helped her up like a gentleman, which sent tingly chills crawling up her spine and sparks to spread all over her body. _

"_I can only presume a fair maiden, such as yourself, has a lovely name to go with her loveliness." He said, his serious expression slowly softening as the corners of his lips were lifting up into a smile._

"_Well, then I can only presume a handsome man like yourself has a beautiful name to match his serious, deep personality." She said in a bold voice that was shocking to her and almost couldn't believe she was the one saying it. _

"_Let's put curious minds at ease and just say them." He said, taking one step back and bowing before her. "I am Julio. I am an art student visiting my uncle, who's the headmaster of Red Fountain school for heroics and bravery."_

"_You do not attend Red Fountain?" she asked, as he stood back up. _

"_Nay," He smiled, which let her know he wasn't all that disappointed about it. This was surprising to her, because most of her friends' sweethearts attend the heroic school and was the number one school every young man wanted to go to, so he could learn how to become a hero. "I am a non-believer in battles and fighting, unless there's a real urgent emergency that requires it. But of course, my older brothers and father who all went to that school wished I would pack my silly dreams away in my sketchpad and attend the school, which to them is reality."_

"_Problem is with people is that they never wish to explode all different ideas and areas around them, which can give them inspirations. They never know what waiting for them the other side of the side of the road." She said. _

"_Or whom you might meet along the way," He smiled, his eyes twinkling as he brought her left hand to his lips, and placed a soft kiss upon it. A uncontrollable, wide smile spread across her face and she used her free hand to fan herself from the nerve-wrecking yet exhilarating bliss coming over her. _

_That day may be decades ago to some other people, though in reality it was about six months ago, but to her it felt more like a yesterday she never could forget about and wanted to relive over and over again forever. It was that very day she met a new friend, a guy friend who was a excellent artist and amazing poet, sweet and gentle on the inside with stunning looks of a dark-haired god with an aura of mysterious added to his personality, and had a special bond with beautiful nature that was quite similar to hers. But only now she realized how each day that has passed, her feelings for him grew stronger and affectionate. She wished she could be someone bolder, brave enough to tell the boy she liked a lot how she really felt about him. _

"_I told you I could catch you." He smiled smugly. _

"_Only because you somehow cheated, you cheater," she answered, still convinced he was sneaky and figured out a very cunning way to catch her by surprise, even though she took every short-cut and mind-numbing mazes she knew in the forest._

"_Rosalina, you are the fairy of nature, who's suppose to know every kind of path in every different forests. The fact I actually caught you proves you were careless and focusing on something else besides getting away from me."_

"_And who says I didn't want to get away from you? Maybe the reason why you caught me was because I wanted you to." She arched her eyebrow, trying to look mysteriously and serious and also bold and sexy. What came out from her mouth moments ago seemed like they were the words of someone very bold, and she was trying to reflect that image._

_For awhile they both were silent, looking deeply into each other's eyes and trying to figure out what was going through the other's mind. Julio gently brushed her left cheek, his finger trailing more across her skin and lightly traced her nose, her other cheek, and finally her lips. Her lips were the main things he was staring at for the longest time and leaned in closer to her, making her heartbeat go twice as fast than before, and caressed her left cheek again and gazed deeply into her eyes. Rosalina felt as if they were transported thousands and thousands of miles away, somewhere private and peaceful where they can be all alone. She never experienced this feeling before with any other boy before, but then again she has never met any other boy like Julio. Not even one who could come close in comparison. _

"_Julio." She said his name so quietly, she doubt he could even hear it. But in the instant something happened. One moment she and him were gazing deeply into one other's eyes and the next moment, she felt his soft lips pressed firmly against hers in a passionate, deep kiss. _

_The kiss was everything how she exactly imagined it would be, but somehow was better than she imagined. The kiss was just their lips meeting for a brief moment and two of them taking their time to get use to the flaming fiery current being transferred from the two of them, but quickly grew more passionate than before and went even deeper. _

_Julio very slowly pulled away from her, looking just as breathless as she felt about what happened just then. His lips were smudged with her lipstick, almost bringing a smile to her face when she thought about how cute pink was on him, his face flushed from all that kissing, and his eyes never left hers for a moment as he cupped her face and tenderly caressed her cheeks. Their foreheads were pressed tightly together and the distance between them was only a breath away from losing themselves into another kiss. "You don't know how long I have been waiting practically forever to do that." He said. _

"_I think I can imagine," she smiled, and then finally, after holding it for months now, left it out. "Julio, I've never felt this way about anyone the way I do for you. With you, it much more different. Deeper, in fact. I don't think I only like you, I think I'm in love with you."_

"_I love you, Rosaline." He smiled, and then leaned down again for another kiss. _

Flora slowly pulled away from Helia and placed her hand over her agape mouth, still suffering some shock after what happened and what she had just saw. She looked up at Helia and was puzzled to see the same bewildered expression on his own face. Could that mean he, too, saw what she had just seen? A vision of…the two of them from the past.

"Did you just…." Her voice trailed off, when she saw him slowly nodding his head, confirming his answer to that question.

Helia boldly took one step toward her and gently caressed her left cheek, just like he had in the vision. When he looked at Flora, there was something much deeper running through his deep blue eyes as he stared at her, as if he was looking at her for the first time ever.

"Helia…" Her voice trailed off, after she noticed the intensity in his eyes and found herself leaning closer toward him already closing her eyes.

Helia was so close to kissing her, but immediately snapped out from his reverie when he noticed something happening in the sky. He gently shook Flora for her to snap out of it and pointed to the sky.

Something usual was happening to the weather. The clear, dark blue sky was changing dramatically as the sound of thunder began to roll, making a loud sound that caused many people to jump in surprise, and black colored clouds were forming in the sky, swallowing up the beautiful midnight blue color, and bolts of lightening shot across the sky. Each bolt was louder and more powerful than the last, and aimed their lightening at random spots and objects, immediately bursting into fierce flames. And the wind, which was so soft and calm as it blew a gentle an occasionally calm breeze, now extremely strong and blowing hard air that was hard to withstand and knocking a few people onto the floor.

People ran to took cover at a few shelters, and the girls and their guys immediately took cover under the buffet white tent, holding onto either one of the poles or each other to put from falling.

"What's happening?" Bloom yelled through the loud thunder.

"I thought you said, Tecna, the weather was going to be marvelous. What if it rain?" Stella said. If it begins to rains, then her outfit would be completely ruined. She couldn't even imagine how horrible her cute outfit would look like dripping wet. Or how long it's going to take to make her hair look normal again after it's been frizzed by the water.

Tecna and Timmy barely paid attention to her and were too busy checking out the thunderstorm. Something definitely wasn't right. For one, she checked her database and watched the weather channel on TV several times before they left and they all said it was going to be a perfect night, also they never recalled seeing black clouds in any storm, and the lightening pattern was off balance and unnatural. As if it was being controlled by someone wanting to create a horrible storm to ruin the fun party.

"I don't like the looks of those clouds or the storm, Timmy." She said.

"Do you think Stormy's the one controlling the storm?" Timmy asked.

Stormy was the queen of the wind and storms, the naive one of the Trix witches but also very powerful by summoning up the worst tornadoes and awful storms, especially lightening. This soft of storm seemed to be more like her specialty, but as Tecna looked closer at the storm she realized this storm couldn't have been summoned by the storm witch. The question was who was causing the storms?

They were interrupted from their thoughts when they heard a groaning sound. They turned around to see Flora leaning against a pole and having support from Helia, looking almost pale and so weak as if all her energy was being sucked out from her. She opened her eyes, creased with heavily, sleepily bags under, and looked like she was about to collapse.

"Flora, are you okay?" Layla asked.

"You don't really look too good," Stella added. "You almost look like you're about to pass out."

"I feel it, too." She answered in a queasy-sounding voice, giving a small, weak smile. She couldn't describe what was happening to her. It was like the clouds were draining her powers and causing that surge feeling to spark alive inside her, which she was trying to fight, and the dark energy from the clouds were hitting her hard like huge waves washing over her. She pointed a shaky finger at the clouds, where ligthening was slicing through the sky, while Helia was helping her stay on her feet. "There's strong, negative energy from the clouds. I can feel it."

"The lightening patterns are not natural, and I don't think Stormy could pull something off like this." Timmy said.

"Well, then who's controlling it?" Helia asked.

"That, my naïve friends, would be the one and only me!" Hearing that familiar male voice so smug and wicked caused Flora and Nathalie's bodies to tremble in fear as a chill was running through their bodies, right down to every bone. "Red Fountain is throwing their annual tournament and dance, and didn't even bother to send me an invitation. But, of course that didn't stop me from giving you my gift: a freak thunderstorm, with thunder mighty and loud as an earthquake, and powerful lightening shooting 97 mph and starting off a few fires." The sky amplified the loudest sound of thunder they had ever heard, causing everyone to immediately cover their ears with their hands to block out the sound, and panicked commotion and terrible fear increased more rapidly when six bolts of lightening stuck at different places and directions: to the north, the lightening stuck the stage where no one was at luckily and caused a big fire; the east, the lightening hit a huge oak tree that was engulfed by flames; and to the west, where the chairs were set out caught on fire, the biggest fire of them all because the chairs were so close to each other and the flames quickly spread. No matter what spell the fairies or witches cast to extinguish the flames, the fire still kept going on strong. The flames weren't the usual orangey-red colors and were as dark as midnight black, which meant it was controlled by dark magic and absorbing any spell cast on it.

Layla tried water blasts to put out the flames, but they did little help putting out the flames and seemed to make the blazing fire more powerful and strong. "My water powers are doing nothing. Nothing's putting them out."

Cold, malicious laughter thundered in the sky, and Flora held onto Helia more tightly, praying repeatedly the person who was laughing and causing the destructive storms wasn't who she thought she was. She got her answer as a small spot was starting to clear up in the center of the sky and a person was descending from the sky, eyes closed and his arms folded against his chest. Dressed in his black formal suit, which contrasted with his pale skin and made him look more natural, he looked every bit of stunningly handsome as well as frightening with his silkily pale blond hair in perfect loose curls, his eyes close shut while his face was every definition of beauty and handsome, and the smile on his face undeniably malicious and cold.

"_You!_" she gasped, as he finally landed perfectly on his feet like a silent cat. Looking at the terrified expression on Flora's face and noticing how she was shaking in fear, her friends were aware of who this guy was: stalker boy. The girls all sensed strong dark energy that was actually weakening their powers and how much evil there was behind his handsome face.

Helia stood in front of Flora and was armed with his laser glove, ready to fight off the creep who dared try to hurt his Flora. Blazing feelings of loathe and pure hatred he was feeling appalled him, because they were directly aimed at a stranger he only met for a few seconds. Despite this, the protectiveness for Flora and hatred reserved for the stranger were right inside him, firing brightly and he was struggling to have self-control of himself and not to rip the stranger's head off his body. It was as if the stranger took something away from him, something so important and precious to him, and twisted it around and around till it was finally gone. "You as so much take one step toward her, I promise you it will be the last move you ever make."

Her friends made a fairy/hero chain in front of Flora, the boys ready with their weapons and the girls transformed into Enchantix form and ready to fight.

The man stared at them all for a moment, slight surprise showing on his smug face, but then quickly dismissed them with an annoyed headshake and a frown. He focused all of his attention on Flora and a frightening smile spread across his very face the minute he saw that fear in her eyes. "Hello, my dear." He reached out his hand, and waited for her to take it. "There are some things I would like to discuss with you."

A great ball of bright sun power hurled right toward him, and he barely dodged the surprise attack, getting third degrees burns on his hand and his hair suffered a few burns.

"Well done, Stella." Tecna praised the sun-powered fairy and held her hand up to give her a high five. But she stopped mid-short when she saw the puzzled confusion on Stella's face.

"That wasn't me." She admitted.

"But if it wasn't you, then who else could have possibly produced a sunburst?" Tecna asked, only getting a shrug from Stella as her answer.

"Looks like we have another sun fairy on our side." Bloom pointed her finger at a hooded figure that was moving her way through the panicked crowd, coming closer to the stalker that was trying to recover from the attack.

The hooded figure was the only one brave enough to come a few feet closer to the young man. She wasn't terrified of him; the right word to describe how she felt toward him was absolutely detestation. Nathalie finally pulled her hood down, revealing her identity to the stranger, and watched the puzzled grimace on his face turned into a pleasant cold smile as memory stuck him.

"Nathalie," He smiled darkly as he got himself back on his feet and dusted off the dirt from his expensive suit. "Little, little Nathalie. It's been ages since I last seen you. You were a little eleven year old girl the last time I saw you, but looking at you now makes me realize how quickly time has gone."

Nathalie didn't acknowledge any of his words, refusing to give the devil-demon the satisfaction he's been craving. The loathing hatred in her firing narrowed eyes was tremendously intense and the expression on her face showed nothing but pure disgust. "You vile, no-good, heartless and cruel, son of a bitch!" she exclaimed, already firing another sun burst at him, which, to her disappointment, he easily dodged. "I don't know how you crawled out from your hell-pit, but I do know how you're going back."

"Don't be that way, Nathalie," He said, the smug gleam in his coal eyes impossible to miss. "There's a party and I just decided I couldn't stay away, so I crashed it."

"This school is for young men willing to learn and see if they have what it takes to become heroes. It's most certainty not the place for fucking bastard-like demons like yourself. So get the damn hell out of here!" With that being said, she rose her hands up to the heavenly skies and they all watched the biggest mass of energy emerging from her hands, which was so bright everyone had to shield their eyes from the blinding light. "Solar eclipse explosion."

The energy ball hurled right toward him, then burst into a huge explosion that knocked everyone onto the ground. Through the smoke and burning fire, Nathalie quickly scanned the area and sighed in relief when she couldn't locate him. But the relief was short-lived, because another burst of lightening zapped at her and barely missed her by a single inch. She saw him stepping out through the mass of smoke and clapping, as if he was witnessing a grand show, with that dark smirk on his face as he came closer to her.

"That was the strongest spell a sun fairy could ever do!" Stella explained, who was just as dumbfounded by the fact the spell didn't burn him to ashes like Nathalie was. "He should have been history."

_Impossible!_ Nathalie thought, staring at him in dismay. That attack spell took everything she had in order to make it as strong as she could, which significantly drained her powers.

"Very cute trick, except you might wanna work on your aim. Even the idiotic hero-wannabes have better aim than that." He said.

"Then let's see if you can handle some Enchantix powers." Bloom said, once Flora got passed her shock and transformed herself.

"Don't forget about us heroes." Sky smirked.

The brave fairies, witches, and heroes all surrounded him; the heroes armed with their weapons and the magical beings conjuering their most powerful spells and were ready to aim at their target. All of them were more than ready to take this sucker down.

"It's real funny how all of you are too busy wanting to fight me while the fire is spreading all throughout the place," The stranger gestured his hand toward the eastern fires that were reaching toward the northern ones, combining their energies and growing bigger and stronger. "Soon it won't be long till the whole place is completely burned to the ground."

"He is right!" Saladin proclaimed. He turned to the lower classmen and said "Freshmen and sophomores, get everyone else out of here now!"

He didn't even need to ask twice. The lower classmen quickly worked their way through the commotion to gather up as many frightened people as they could, including some fairies and witches who haven't yet mastered their powers, and were luckily able to get over to the South gate, which was the only safe place that hasn't been affected by the fire and got them all out safely.

The blond-haired man took one look at his surroundings, carefully eyeing all the young students and professors and a few other grown-ups who all wore determination in their faces, along with fierceness. "Now, it looks like I'm stuck with all of you people. I don't know whether I should consider you brave for wanting to fight me or fools for staying behind with a pathetic hope you actually have what it takes to beat me. Even with all your powers and strengths combined, you're still no match for me. Those people who left are cowards, but cowards with common sense to leave with all this fire spreading."

Thanks to the wide space of the quad area, they weren't completely encircled by flames. _Yet_, anyway. Sooner or later, the fire was going to be bigger and spread quickly among themselves, so soon it won't be too long before they were surrounded by the blackened flames. The teachers put an oxygen spell on themselves and the students to help them breathe through the smoke, but also worried by the limited time the spell would last before they would soon be choking by the smell.

"I don't know who or what you are, clown, but I do know you're going down!" Riven said.

"If he's the one controlling the lightening storm, then defeating him should be able to cancel out the fire since it's his dark magic used to power the fire." Tecna said.

"Then I say we take him down!" Layla exclaimed.

The dark, amused smirk still un-wiped from his face and conceited arrogance gleaming in his coal-stoned eyes, the stranger arched his eyebrow at Layla and said "I think I might have heard you incorrectly, because I could have swore I heard you said you actually think you can beat me," Right on cue, he threw his head back and let out a dark, malicious laugh that sounded both amused and in disbelief, which had his body frame shaking from laughing so much. He wiped a single tear from his eye and sighed, looking like he was close to laughing a second time. "Pardon me, but I couldn't help thinking how ridiculously stupid all of you are if you actually believe you can take me down."

Stella half-snorted, half-sarcastically laughed at that comment, choosing to ignore the dark glare the man coldly gave her. "Please," She said, with a dismissed wave of her right hand while her other arm was resting on her hip. "I've seen much tougher day old kittens at the pet shop that were tougher than you."

Anyway humor he had in his face quickly disappeared and was overshadowed by dark, enraged anger by the disrespect and rude comment the foolish little fairy just said to him. Growling escaped from his tight-lined lips, growling as loud and mighty as that of a fierce tiger ready for the kill. His eyes were narrowed into cold slits while his hands were balled up into tight fists and there was a tension in his jaw, indicating how quickly mad he was getting.

"You should learn to be seen and silent, petty girl." He summoned the biggest lightening ball the girls have ever seen any magical being do, and hurled the killer thing right at Stella, who was suddenly paralyzed with fear to even move.

Flora quickly stood in front of her friend and stretched out her hands forward, her green magic flowing from the palms and surrounding the lightening ball, draining it energy flow and deceasing it to dust, turning the remains into beautiful nature butterflies. "Spring has sprung." She smirked at his slightly shocked face, and smiled at Stella, who gave her a thankful smile and hug for saving her.

"If spring has sprung, my dear, then what do you call this?" His coal eyes glowed with a sinister glow and as he threw his hands up toward the sky, and the change in the freak storm was going through quick several changes. The wind was blowing much harder than ever, and the impossible strong gush of air mingled with the fierce flames and rapidly increased the flames' speed of growth. Lightening was shooting at practically every direction, barely missing people by an inch, and was sparking even more ferocious flames.

A burst of unbelievably strong, fierce lightening, thousands and thousands stronger and more powerful than the previous ones, was the biggest shock they had yet seen and stuck everyone at once. It did more than cause them mind-numbing, body-aching pain; it actually sucked some energy from the boys and drained the girls' power. The jolt knocked them all extremely hard onto the ground, scattering them at different directions.

Bloom tried to ignore the aching pain in her body as she slowly tried to get up. Her friends were all besides her by her left and right and some were in the back of her, who was also struggling to move through the pain after the powerful shock and energy drain. But then her eyes widened when she noticed someone was missing and saw Flora wasn't with them. Quickly she scanned around the area to locate her friend, and finally saw her lying unconscious right in front of the man, who was smiling darkly as he was kneeling down, with no one there to protect her form him.

"Flora!" She exclaimed. "Don't worry; we'll be right there-"

But she immediately was cut off the second she step forward and felt something hard smashing into her and blocking her way. It was as if she walked straight into a brick wall, and she could already feel her face-mostly her forehead-aching from the deflection. Hesitantly, she pressed her hands right in front of her and felt something hard and solid. It was an invisible barrier keeping them trapped inside. She saw the other students and teachers were in the same situation, broken up into groups and were trapped inside the barriers, which was unaffected by the blasts or attacks the people tried to break it down.

"Let's see if we can blast our way out." Musa said, already ready to use her sonic blast on this thing.

Tecna quickly stopped Musa from doing the spell when she did a quick analyze scan with her digital, scanner cat-eye goggles and was able to see the barrier with the visible vision from her glasses. According to the scanner, the barrier was nine feet wide and only ten feet above their heads, which made it impossible for the girls not to fly out. And it was be useless to try to break it down because it was not only keeping them out, but also draining their energy and absorbing their power. Not only that, but there was also a deflection spell, so anything they tried to hit at the barrier would only bounce off them.

"We still have to do something! I'm not letting that bastard hurt Flora!" Helia exclaimed, which shocked all of them. He was usually so calm and before today they weren't even sure he knew any cursed words, so seeing him like this was a complete shocker and showed how much he cared about Flora.

Flora rubbed her aching head as she slowly lifted her upper body up into sitting position. Her body was still in pain after being hit by the lightening, and could feeling something-a feeling that was similar to the strange jolt emotion she has been experiencing lately-pulsing in her veins.

When she finally opened her eyes and saw who was kneeling down in front of her and offering her his hand, she nearly jumped in shock and backed away slowly. "Stay away from me." She told him, using her best fearless voice she hoped sound pretty convincing.

He smiled that dark, cold and malicious smile that chilled her right down to every bone in her body and caused a sick pit pinch in her nausea stomach. There was another emotion in his eyes, besides coldness and darkness, as he stared at her wordlessly. It looked deeply caring; almost…friendly His smile was beginning to lose a bit of its chilled edge and looked a bit more different from the other smiles he given her. In its own strange way.

"Don't be afraid," he said in a soothing, calm voice that was so drastically different from the regular way he talked with that edge hardening his tone. But the way he was talking and looking at her now was almost the same way an adult approaches a frightened small child: gentle. "I promise I will not hurt you. I simply want to talk."

She resisted the urge to shake her and laugh in disbelief, finding it too hard to believe after what happened the last time they met and the fear he has put into her body, he actually intended not to bring any harm to her. She knew he was probably charming his way to get through her, so she would trust him and let him inside her mind, and she most certainly wasn't going to fall for it.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

She took note of the way his smile was wearying a bit and the strange warmth in his eyes beginning was vanish into utter expressionless, expressionless with a hint of sad disappointment she could tell he was trying to hid. For some reason, and she didn't knew why, but he seemed real down she didn't know who he was and that almost was silly to her. Before this weekend, she has never him before in her entire life but she also couldn't shake the annoying feeling she has knew him from somewhere before.

"It seems like your memory hasn't returned to you yet. Very disappointing," He murmured to himself, but she was able to hear it clearly and was shocked by what she heard. Shocked and also confused, when he was talking about her memory she doesn't remember. His disappointment lasted for a few seconds before it was lightened, then quickly darkened by the creepy smile making its way onto his face. "No matter then," he commented, with the strange gentleness and hardened coldness mingling in his voice. "Time will surely help you remember, and I promise I will make it come to pass."

Frowning at the rubbish nonsense he was speaking, which she wasn't even curious to know about, and frustrated he still hasn't answered her question, Flora said, with as much patience she had left in her and demanded more firmly and louder, "I repeat again, who are you?"

The smile on his face widened into a full, ear-to-grin, bathed with so much evil behind it and was chilled the very pit of her soul, as he took a low bow in front of her in a very gentleman-like man. Dark, cold smugness and frightening amusement lit brightly in his eyes while he slowly lifted his head up and his cold, black eyes bored right through her, too powerful to look away from no matter how much she wanted to. "Alaric is the name and causing pain and mayhem is my very own game I love doing."

_Alaric? _

Flora just sat still and stared at the man with awe shock, feeling the world was once again spinning so fast she felt nausea and her head was filled with so many thoughts, she thought she was close to exploding. Now, more than anything she was sure she had heard that name before, was sure she knew him before somehow even though she still didn't have the answer to that.

The man smile widened a bit, looking more like an evil smirk than an actually smile, and he kneeled down once again and slowly brushed his cool, rough hand against her left cheek, ignoring the fact she was shuddering in disgust and from his cold body temperate. "I can't tell you how long I've waited for this day. And I must say, the spell worked out even more marvelously than I expected, despite the fact it took forever to happen," Ignoring Flora slightly frowning at him and shivering from his touch, he cupped her face in both hands, the same loving gesture Helia has done for her countless times before. But this was different from Helia's touch, because where his was gentle and loving, which always made her head swim in a blissful daze, the man's touch was simply sickening and revulsion. "You look just the same as I remembered. Same beautiful face, so delicate with innocence that's too valuable to waste but also precious and stunning to even think for use," His voice trailed off, as he ran one curious hand through her face, feeling her soft skin and brushing back her hair away from her eyes. All which made her feel so nausea. "Same soft, tan skin. Same beautiful, long cameral hair that goes pass your waist. And the ever, so beautiful emerald green eyes so beautiful to look at."

"What are you…?" He voice trailed off, and her eyes widened in panic when she saw her friends and the others trapped inside barriers, seemingly invisible to their eyes but very visible to her. They were struggling to break out and help her, thinking the stranger was brining harm to her, but also coughing from the smoke coming from the fire that was getting closer and closer to them. It wouldn't be long before they were engulfed and burnt to crisps. "Girls, Helia!" She exclaimed, and then quickly glanced at the other trapped people, seeing some already collapsed from the exhaustion and unconscious from the deadly fumes. "Release them!"

"What, them?" The stranger, now identified as Alaric, said, barely even looking at the poor people which only increased the anger rising within her. "You don't need to worry about them much longer. The barrier are sucking out their energies and stealing some of your friends' powers. It will keep sticking and sticking till there's barely anymore for them to even stand on their own two feet. They'll be so weak, it will barely take any time for the fire to smolder them to dust."

"Let them go!" She got herself up from the ground and glared at him with anger blazing in her eyes.

"Why would I do that?" He shrugged his shoulders, trying to look innocent but the evil amusement in his black, cruel eyes immediately gave him away. "With them being out of the way, I get to have you all to myself. Also, there is so much to tell you but so very, little time to explain. Ironic, isn't it.

A flash of anger rippled right through her, and she took in slow breathes to calm herself down before she does anything drastic. But it was already too, late. She wiped her hand across and, adding her magic and to her command, a sharp throne-vine rose from a crack her magic formed on the ground, squirming away like a snake before it hurled right toward the man and stuck him right at the face, the painful thrones slashing a fat bruise on his right cheek in a clean swipe. She was appalled by her sudden action, but also strangely proud of the bold move.

"Show him whose boss, Flora!" Stella cried; proud of slick move she just pulled.

"Alright!" Layla cried. "You go, Flo."

"We seriously have to figure out a way out here and fast." Timmy said, some fear heard clear in his tone as he saw the midnight flames quickly inching closer and closer to the barrier, and he had a feeling this barrier couldn't hold out fire.

"Maybe a fire on fire attack will do the trick." Bloom already had two fire balls burning brightly on her palms. In different situations, usually when she used her powers against their own elements, the fire would eventually extinguish. So, there was no reason now not to at least try it.

"Are you crazy?" Riven exclaimed. Bloom gave him a dark look, but he ignored it and continued. "We're trying to find a quick way to get out of here, so we can help Flora. Not find a quicker to have us barbecued!" He rolled his eyes and sucked in his teeth, murmuring under his breath "You'd think the keeper of the Dragon Fire would be a lot smarter."

Sky heard the last part he said, and, like any good boyfriend, was always quick to defend his girlfriend. "Excuse me?" He demanded, walking closer to Riven till they were two or three inches away from each other and stared at each other challengingly and coldly.

"Will the two of us…_PLEASE STOP ACTING LIKE FREAKING CHILDREN!?_" Everyone, including hard-core Riven, jumped before they slowly turned to meet the fiery, blazing anger in Helia's normally calm, gentle eyes. But right now, he didn't look like the gentle and calming guy they all knew who always would be calm at any situations. He looked like he was ready to kill at any moment anyone who even talked, but as he turned over to glance at Flora, his angered eyes deepened with compassionate concern. "We have to help her!" He pounded the walls with everything he had, even tried dozens of time smacking his shoulder against the barrier. He couldn't lose her to that demon, he couldn't.

_Not again._

"Don't worry, Helia," Bloom said. "We'll find a way to help her."

"But it looks like he's not even harming." Tecna used her the zoom vision in her scanner goggles to see what was going on with Flora and the stranger, and was able to see what was going on-including the last minute caressing he was doing on her Flora's face, even though the girl looked disgusted by the act. She decided to leave that part out, because with Helia's anger she didn't even know existed raging now, he would completely lose it if he found out.

Musa was also being a great help to Riven by informing her about the conversation going on between the nature fairy and crazed stalker. Being the fairy of music, Musa was born with efficient hearing and was able to hear everything going around them from a conversation a few feet away to the quickest murmurs. With her sonic-advanced left ear pressed carefully near-not next to-the barrier, she heard what the stranger was telling Flora and she was absolutely shocked, with her midnight blue eyes widening, by the what the man has told Flora.

"Oh my gosh!" She said, as she pulled away. The others were quick to notice the look of dismay on her face.

"Musa, what's up?" Riven asked, placing a firm hand on her shoulder to stop her body from trembling, which she wasn't even aware of until he touched.

"What was it that you hear?" Nabu asked.

"You guys are never going to believe this. But that guy," She said, jerking her thumb to the blond stranger. "Was talking some bizarre stuff to Flora."

"What was it that he said?" Layla asked.

"He was saying….how it was a disappointment to him she hasn't regain her full memory yet, but is so sure he'll able to make her remember. And then... he was saying something about a spell. Some spell she did on herself, and how it turned out more great than he thought. But the way he was talking and looking at her, it was like she was some kind of living proof of the spell."

"What?" They all asked, just as confused as she was by what she had heard.

Drips of crimson blood were spilling from Alaric's bruise, rolling down his pale cheek like wax rolling down a burning candle. He placed his hand against the bruise and stood there for a moment, holding his bloody cheek with one hand while looking at her with those unreadable, haunting eyes piercing right through her. She was puzzled by what she had done to him, but was also secretly happy she did it. It would serve him right for what he done to her and her friends and hopefully show him she wasn't some little, helpless fairy who couldn't defend herself.

But something unexpected began to happen. His lips that were drawn into a firm, thin line were slowly pulling up into a haunting, eerie smile more frightening than any smile he has given her. More scary, but was also causing that spinning, sickening confusion she was trying desperately to fight and wasn't sure how much longer she would be able to handle it.

Then, without warning, he began to laugh. He simply threw his head back and let out a laugh, acting like she told him the funniest joke he has ever heard in his life instead of using her nature powers to make a sharp throne vine slash him on the cheek, which was still pouring out blood running right down his cheek. As he looked at her again, he quickly looked away while the volume of his laughter increased, making her anger decreased while she was left just confused by the way he was acting.

"Wonderful! Just wonderful!" He said once he gained some self-control of himself and was able to stop laughing for a moment to caught his breathe. He straightened up and let out one last chuckle when he eyed her curious, questioning face, thinking how humorous. "It's as if I'm practically living back in time again, though I must admit you were a bit quicker to react than the last we met."

_The last we met?_ Flora thought, looking at Alaric who was making less and less sense the more he was talking to her. She may felt strange remembrance by the beautiful yet frightening appearance and name really did rang many bells inside her head, but through her fuzzy head she doesn't recall meeting him before in her life, at least the day before he was stalking her at the bus station. Or at least, she was sure she hasn't met him before.

"I'll let you in on a little secret. This is what I always loved so much about you: you appear vulnerable and fragile to your opponents, but inside you is fierceness just waiting to come out. Like I always say, you have great potential, which is a key essence to power. Great potential and ravishing beauty to go with it."

"_You friends see you as a weak, little girl. And the people, the witches, and monsters you battle think you are easy to defeat. But I can see inside you greatness that should have great power to go with it," He arched his eyebrow up and smirked, both overly smugly and darkly, trying to work his charm on her. _

_His beauty was astonishing, but looks alone weren't going to make her fall for him, like he claims others girls have fallen for before. She likes a person for their inside as much as the outside, and his horrible, evil personality was incredibly ugly while his appearance was incredibly beautiful, and his appearance alone wasn't going to make her fall for him and forget about her beloved Julio. _

_She wasn't even sure why she was giving him the time of day. He was a shadow and an annoying fly, always creeping behind her and turning up unexpectedly, sometimes just to give her a good scare. But as much as he annoyed her, he was also…something else, something else she couldn't explain or describe that always made her unable to shake him off her mind. For some reason, it was like he could read into her private thoughts, seeing and learning things she kept locked away inside her mind she would never tell anyone else, but he seemed have some understanding in his eyes. _

"_I'm not weak." She tried to convince him of this as much as she wanted to convince herself. She loved nature more than anything and loved her powers, but she couldn't lie to herself when she says there are certain times where she wished she had much stronger powers. Whenever she looked at her friends' abilities, flashes of strong, burning anger would churn rapidly in her heart. She didn't want to admit to them, but she truly, completely was jealous of her friends. Titania had amazing digital powers, which goes really handy for finding weaknesses in their opponents; Melody controlled both music and sound that can easily knock out monster with one blast of a loud ear-shattering shriek; Lauren could make amazing shapes with her morphix powers and bend water all around her, making her like a water goddess; Chelsea controlled the great power of bright moon people really underestimate but only regret later when she takes them down hard and Luna was the keeper of the mighty Dragon Fire, the most powerful power in the whole magical universe. _

_Her own powers came in use when they were are traveling through the wilderness and they rely her ability to hear the voice of nature to be their guide, and can trap others with vines and branches. But the sad truth of the matter was nature was easily breakable, which happened quite too often for her to even keep track of count when she remembered how eventually witches or monsters who were coming after them easily broken out from her vine prison. _

_Alaric's cocky eyes then lightened much softer into understanding, and as he placed his finger under her chin and titled her head up to meet his eyes, this time she actually allowed him to do so without flinching or pulling away in the disgust she always felt when she touched him. "I know you are not." He said, with a small smile, so different from the other creepy smiles he has give, because this time the smile exact opposite and perfectly matched the tone he was speaking to her: gentle. "Rosalina, I can immediately see greatness in a person by looking straight into their eyes, and you are the best of the great I have seen so far." _

"_You have the wrong girl, then. If anyone is destiny for greatness, then it is my friends. Particularly dear Luna. She is the keeper of the Dragon Fire, a power so strong and powerful no other person can ever dream about having powers as strong as that."_

"_Yes, it is the true that the Dragon Fire is indeed the most powerful in the entire magical realm," He agreed, and she nodded to that agreement. But his gentle smile widened as he brought her chin up and had her eyes focused on him. "But is it not that powerful."_

_She stood still for a few moments, wondering if she was placed in a dream or had misunderstood the words he was telling her. Or perhaps he was trying to play with her mind yet again. Frowning suspiciously with her warm emerald eyes narrowed, she asked "What do you mean? Are you saying there is another power?"_

"_Yes, there is. That's exactly what I'm saying. You see, dear Rosalina, many, many centuries ago at the beginning of the magical universe, right after the great Dragon was born, a dark power was created as well. This power was entirely different from the Dragon Fire, because it fed on pain and misery. Legends has it the darkest and most powerful witches and wizards, believed to have been the Devil's followers, gathered together to combine their negative powers to create a new stronger force more powerful than any other power the universe has yet to see."_

"_And they succeeded?"_

"_Yes," He sneers the word delightedly, his coal eyes laughing and glowing with amusement. "This powerful was too powerful for the creators to handle on their own and was even more powerful, invincibly stronger than the Dragon Fire. The power became so strong; it developed a will of its own and actually destroyed practically every realm and everything, including its creators, with one energy burst that exploded and caused mass destruction. It was the ultimate power."_

"_So then, what happened to it?"_

"_Unfortunately, a group of wizards from each realm gathered together and were able to imprison the power inside a book. I was chosen to be guardian of the book and quickly fled with it to the dark dimension, placing it on a shrine inside Shadow Haunt." _

_Rosalina shook her head and pulled her chin out of Alaric's cold grip. She turned her back on him and crossed her arms against her chest, looking straight ahead at the marvelous trees and trying to focus on its beauty instead the hot pierce of Alaric's dark eyes that was boring right through her. "You're the guardian of the so-called power, so I can only imagine an evil tyrant like yourself would want to have to have the power all for yourself."_

_She looked over her shoulder for a moment to see his expression, seeing how his lips still held the fainted traces of an amused smirk and his eyes gleaming with so much laughter, she could even hear it. She shook her head as she turned straight forward again. "Typically," She said. "Then again, you always love having power to cause trouble, wouldn't you say."_

"_It's so funny, how you seem to know so much about me the way I do about you. This proves how you and I aren't so different, how perfect we could be together as a team…" His voice trailed off, but she knew those unspoken words he was close to saying and frowned, feeling less frustrated but definitely more annoyed. When she turned around to give him a piece of her mind, she was shocked to see how close he suddenly was to her now. So close, as she turned around, their clothes brushed lightly against each other and he was invading her private space she preferred to keep distance away from him. "But you are correct though. Had I be given the chance, I would have immediately taken the power as my own. Sadly, however, I can't."_

_She cautiously took steps back to out up a good distance between them and gave him a warning look not to try anything unless he wanted to get slapped by throne vines. "And why is it that you can't?"_

"_Because this power has a will of its own, much stronger than other powers. The same thing is true for the Shadow Fire, but unlike the shadow fire taking control of any person who wishes to have their power, this power chooses the right person to be its' keeper." He answered._

"_Are you saying the power chooses the person it wants to possesses its' power?" she asked, couldn't help but being at lease curious. _

"_Yes, that is correct," He nodded, pleased to see some interest sparking in her beautiful eyes. "The power doesn't want any typical person to be its owner. Tales like that can only led to unfortunate tragedies. It wants someone with greatness, cunning and clever, has great potential that is the key assessment to having great power. Because the creators didn't have any of those qualities, the power worked against them and eliminated them without hesitation."_

_She swallowed down a nervous gulp as her eyes darted and glanced at every possible sight she could see without meeting Alaric's chilling eyes. Keeping her eyes strictly on the ground, she asked in a steady voice, trying not to sound too anxious, "And what exactly makes you think I could the one who can posses this power?"_

_His gentle warm smile she was beginning to get fond of and also found beautiful, seeing how his softened his face and made him look even more beautiful, instantaneously soured as its original dark smugness was creeping onto his face. "Like I said, my dear darling Rosalina, I see greatness in your eyes and potential burning within you, just waiting to be put on display." _

_Greater power that's even more powerful than the mighty Dragon Fire? Qualities she already has that the powers already find interesting in a person? This was practically what she has been wishing for entire life, since she began to learn about her powers and see how they weren't so powerful. But things like wishes and dreams that can led to those wishes can easily turn into traps when one is immediately caught up in the dream to even think about questioning the conditions of the bargain._

"_First thing first. I need to know the name of this supposedly great power." She demanded. _

"_The great Midnight Raven." He smirked. _

She wasn't even sure what was happening when she had that strange vision, but she did knew her head was once again spinning in confusion. Spinning so fast, it was beyond her control to will it to stop. Loud, hollow breathes were being breathe in and out, repeating in a pattern, and she realized it was her making that sound. She didn't even want to think about what Alaric was thinking of when he watched her being lost inside another strange, powerfully familiar vision.

These visions were getting more and more odd each time they just pop in her head and play inside her mind like a movie. She didn't even know where they were coming from and how they were happening, but it was still pretty obvious they all had to do with her. The first vision was about a girl causing so much destruction with her dark magic, sitting on her throne like a grand queen and smiling in evil, bone-chilling accomplishment as she watched all the chaos happening around her, which scared Flora to this very day; the second one featured her being lifted up high into the sky and crimson red marks slashing across her very skin, with the sinister S blazed onto her forehead, and dark magic creating a powerful raven bird hovering in the sky and sharing incredibly dark powers with her, becoming one with her, which scared her even more than the first one did; the third one finally one that didn't scare her but was dear to her heart when she saw herself and Helia lost in their own private moment alone in the forest, a vision that had actual romance and made her face almost warm as she thought more about it; and the last one actually showed Alaric, smiling his cocky smile and sometimes in those rare moments acting gentle with her. These visions all seemed to take place so long ago in different times. And in two of the four of the visions she had seen, she learned she or the girl who seemed exactly like her in the past was given the name Rosalina.

"_Rosalina_…." She quickly said out loud in a small mumble when she meant to keep that inside her head. But inside her head, the name was echoing eerily all throughout her name. A name she could only guess hasn't said in so long, but felt so strongly connected to her it was terribly frightening. Could Rosalina have been a past descendant of hers? The remarkably exact resemblance was un-canning was so alike, it should be considered scary. But as for personalities….when she saw herself-or rather Rosalina being in the forest with Hel-Julio, she was shy and insecure about sharing her feelings, much like how she was, but in the last vision she saw Rosalina no longer seemed like the shy girl she was. She was far different than her normal self, less shy and more bold with her choices.

Choices that also includes making a deal with Alaric, which to her was like trading your soul to the devil for eternal youth and beauty, a thing the person sadly realizes only later was a terrible mistake.

Why was she seeing these visions? They felt so real always stuck fuzzy remembrance in her head, something she wouldn't have felt if Rosalina was simply a descendant of hers. Then what does it mean?

The air was suddenly short of oxygen, and Flora found herself once again taking in deep, hollow breathes just to calm herself.

"What's the matter, my dear?" Sudden anger flashed through her body, mixing along with her confusion, as she turned around to find the devil smirking right at her, a thing she exactly predicted she would be greeted by. "Saw something you didn't like?"

Letting her anger take over for the moment, she raised both her hands in front of her chest and crossing them into an x-shape. At her command, stronger vines prickled with sharp, poisonous thrones that could easily weakened someone with one whip encircled around him and slashed him every inch on his body, blood flowing rapidly onto the ground and spilling in gush puddles. She whipped her left hand to the right, and the vines did a clean slice at his throat. She outstretched her right hand, bending it a bit before slowly curling it up into a tight fist as the vines all attacked together and pressed every single one of their sharp thrones tightly against every inch of Alaric's body, crimson red liquid spurting out in every direction like a fountain spurting water.

She watched him fell head-first down to the ground, and his blood forming into a bloody river pooling around his body. She wasn't even sure if he was lying down from the pain burning in his body or if she had taken it a bit with the thrones and actually did more than just badly hurt him. She considered what she has done, but right now looking at him and thinking about his sick, mind games, she hoped he was on a one-way trip to hell.

Someone was banging on something loudly, and the sounds of weak coughing were also heard. Flora turned her head to the direction where the sound was coming from, and saw her friends were calling out to her, though she couldn't hear them but was reading their opened-lips that were screaming something she couldn't understand. Regardless of whatever they were saying, she wasted no time running over to them and trying to think of a quick way to break them out of their before the fire got to them, then help everyone else get out from there, too.

A blossom blast might able to do just the trick. She quickly powered up a ball of bright pink energy glowing brightly on the palm of her left hand, and just as she was so close to the barrier and close to aiming it right at her target, something hard hit her from behind she found herself being lifted up into the air without even using her wings, then she felt the ground roughly brushing against her skin as she was tossed aside like a toy doll and tumbling across the ground countless times before she finally took one last tumble near a burning oak tree.

"FLORA!" Her friends cried in unison, wanting more than anything to help her but also outraged they were trapped inside the cursed barrier.

She lay on the ground, lying on her right side with her cheek pressed against the hard ground, and her hand outstretched. She could only take in a few breathes, too numb to even think about what happened and too stunned to feel pain. She did, however, feel two hands lifting her up from the ground.

"I really hate hurting a lady, especially a pretty girl like you. However, I'm a man and like any guy, I quickly ran out of patience." Alaric smirked.

"LET HER GO!" Helia yelled.

"If you're the one putting those visions in my mind, then I suggest you quit it!" Flora snapped. "Why are you stalking me? What is it that you want?"

"Let's see…" He pursued his lips tightly together, his face losing all traces of the dark humor and looking more somber than she had ever seen him before. "There are so many answers to that question, but I don't even know where to begin."

She scowled as she swing her dangling feet upward to kick him hard in a private spot, ignoring his pained screams and focused on running as soon as she put down on the ground. But as soon as she was freed, she was once again caught in a trap. Her back was shoved pushed against a tree, which was the only one without flames burning it down, and her wrists were caught in a deadly tight grip she was unable to escape from.

Burning pain flowed all through her body as fire was branding something onto her wrists, imprinting onto her skin. Just like before, the shocks from the touch was too powerful and unbearable for her to handle. The shock was impossibly cold, unbelievably colder than Icy's ice-cold heart and unimaginably and unspeakably darker than any dark force in the whole magical realm. The jolt from his touch sent powerful electric-fiery shocks into her wrists and spread all over, actually pulsing through her veins and actually burning her hand. Burning her like hot fire.

Finally, when he loosened his grip and she was released from his hold, she nearly fell to the ground yet again. She sank down to the ground and kept her eyes steady on the ground, keeping to make sense what was happening to her and trying to steady her breathing, which was heavy and deep repeating in a pattern. She brought her wrists close to her face to check what the shock done to her, and her heart nearly skipped several beats when she saw what was on her wrists.

On both wrists, just beneath her hand, were the vivid, blooded-red sinister 'S' right there and presented, the bright color and familiar feeling of unbearable pain she experienced were practically mocking her. The sickening thing was how evil it looked, evil and how it glowing bright ruby each second, gleaming more and more red than the last time.

"I enjoy playing with you, my dear," Regrettably, she lifted her eyes off the ground to look at the darkly, coal-black gleaming eyes belonging to Alaric. She turned her head away from him, but that didn't put a pause on his smug smile. He then paused for a moment as he watched two, fat tears rolling down her cheeks, along with others falling after them. His cocky pride was put aside, those deep feelings he still hasn't got used to firing up yet again, and his vicious smile melted away into an expression more understanding, more gentle. "I may enjoy playing with you, but that doesn't mean I would take my games that far to actually bring pain toward you."

_Didn't look that way when you tossed me like a rag doll, burned me with your fire hands, and shoved me hard against a tree_, Flora thought, not even bothering to stop the tears from flowing down her cheeks helplessly. The aching, insufferable pain she was feeling spreading throughout her body was caused by his _little games_.

He seemed to know what was going through her mind and sighed tiredly, as if he was trying to think of a different approach to make her believe him. He placed his extremely cool, odd-feeling hand against her cheek, and this time Flora was too numb to even flinch and push his hand away, not moving an inch or saying a word as he wiped the tears away. "Please do not cry," he said in that gentle voice again, talking to her like an adult trying to sooth a depressed child. "I know you are scared. No doubt frightened and also very confused by what that has been happening to you, but I want you to know I know what you are going through and I only want to help you."

"What do you mean?" She finally asked, after looking at him silently for what felt to be like a century.

He smiled more gently this time, any trace of the smug humor and dark coldness in his face were completely erased, as he wiped away her last tear from her eye, and help her onto her feet as he stood up. Holding on firmly onto her hands and keeping his eyes locked with her beautiful emerald ones, he said "The visions you're seeing, the marks scripted into your hands, the confusion and fear. I know why you are feeling this way. It is only obvious your memory as Rosalina has yet to come back to you, not remembering your past and the glorious legacy you left behind. How the moment you got the great power, you changed your name into Libitina, which means goddess of Death, and how you became known as the Angel of Darkness."

He sighed, lowering his head down, and murmured to himself "I should have known that is would have happened," He lifted his head back up and smiled at the confused expression on Flora's. "But that, of course, is the sad truth about reincarnations. Whenever a soul is reborn into a new body, they often lose their memory of their previous life and self. Its unfortunate the same thing had to happen to you, but I guess it was worth it though. Look at you now: so beautiful and stunning, it's seems you've gotten even more beautiful the last we met, and I can still sense the power burning within you. The power of the Midnight Raven still burns deeply within, just waiting to show these petty realms how much power they have and what they can really do." He lifted her chin up, so she would meet his compelling eyes, and his smile widened when he saw he had her full attention and lovingly brushed back her hair away from her eyes. "And the Dark Angel will rise once again and the whole magical universe will tremble before her feet."

So many thoughts were running through her head, feelings such as anger and confusion all rising toward the surface and spiraling rapidly inside her body, and her heart was doing overlaps in beating. Each time she tried to open her mouth, no words would come out and she would be forced to close it. Midnight Raven? Dark Angel? Rosalina? Libitina? Those visions? The more she thought about it, the stronger the connected feeling toward those names and feeling of remembrance would strike harder than the last. The strange jolt she has been experiencing lately was dipping deep within her veins, causing her head too spin with too many thoughts, too many memories coming to mind caused by the words he was telling her. But the one that really hit home was the word _reincarnation_.

Flora pulled her hands away from his grip and took one step back, trying to think through her confusion.

"Come with me, my dear Libitina, and I will explain much to you and help you regain your memory." His smile was still strangely warm and gentle, as he held his hand out to her and waited for her to take it. "I'll even let your dear friends go if that will make you happy."

_My friends!_ Flora thought urgently, her dazed eyes widening as she recalled how they were trapped inside the barrier with flames breaking through and would all soon be killed by fire unless something was done quick and fast. She was still confused by the sudden flash of events quickly passing through her mind, the words Alaric was telling her, and by that strange jolt she felt inside her, trying to break out. She might felt some remembrance toward Alaric, but that didn't exactly mean she trusted him either. To be specific, she didn't. But what other choice did she have?

If going away with Alaric to whenever he wanted to take her was the only way to save her friends and the other people trapped inside the barrier and flames, then she was going to have to go for it. Flora stared at stuck out hand for a minute or two before slowly reaching for it, quietly noticing how Alaric's gentle smile grew with vicious triumph, as if he was a second away from winning a fantastic grand prize.

"_NO!_" Flora snapped out of her train of thoughts, looking at Alaric's smirking yet strangely-gentle eyes once before turning the opposite direction, and Alaric scowled at the bothersome interruption before they both then turned toward Nathalie, who was trapped inside the strong and invisible barrier, imprisoning her with the black flames making their way through it and surrounding all around her. She was firing all she had at the barrier in hopes the sun blasts she was firing would weaken its strength long enough for her to escape, but when they didn't seem to do the trick, she resorted to pounding her fists hard against the barrier and scream loud at the top of her lungs in order to get their attention. Particularly Flora's. "Child, I beg of you, in the name of all that is good and pure in this forsaken world, do not go with him! I couldn't stop that dreadful era that happened so long, nor could I have saved my sister and her friends from their horrible fate, but I refuse to let history repeat itself." Turning toward Alaric, she shouted angrily with the raw anger emotion wildly raging in her eyes. "You will leave this place and leave the girl alone at once! Or, so may the great Dragon help me, I will end you myself. And I will not show any mercy toward a _fucking bastard_!"

Alaric gave Flora a please-excuse-for-a-moment look, winking and smiling at her, and in flash of white and black, was standing right in front of Nathalie's prison, his eyes showing nothing but the cruel demon she remembered clearly with detail, a dark smile of amusement and spiteful wickedness darkening his expression, and had his arms folded against his chest. "Nathalie, Nathalie, Nathalie," he said, shaking his head slowly from side to side. "You just don't get it, do you? First off, I'm immortal, so that makes me pretty impossible to beaten, much less be destroyed by the petty hands of a fairy." He gestured his hands, from head to toe, at his body once bloody and terribly wounded by the throne vines Flora controlled with her nature power, showing off how it not only remarkably and quickly healed, but didn't even show a scratch on him or shown any evidence he had been injured in the first place.

Flora was astonished; she barely even noticed his body quickly healed after it was slashed at every inch by her thrones.

"Correct me I'm wrong, but wasn't it petty but brave fairies and heroes who put an end to your dear Libitina," Nathalie said, knowing very well how she was pushing her luck by mentioning it but couldn't resist watching his smug face turned quickly into enragement, anger blazing in his eyes while his balled-up hands were glowing madly with his dark magic, and smirked. "So hard to believe the so-called mighty, powerful Dark Angel actually gotten beaten by petty fairies, isn't it?"

"SILENCE!" He screamed, outraged, that anger bringing great(and also powerful) advantage to the dark energy blast he fired at her, going right through the barrier and slamming into her chest, knocking her toward the barrier's back wall. As Nathalie struggled to get back on her feet and also being caution toward the flames growing stronger around her, more negative power balls were appearing in Alaric's hands and he looked like he hasn't even started beginning to forcibly silence the annoying woman. "How dare you insult the great queen like that, you useless excuse for an over-grown pixie!" Another blast from his hand stuck her at the head, bringing her down to her knees as she tired out from the pain and placed her left hand against her aching head. "The only reason you're still around is because your pathetic, precious elder sister and her damn foolish, wretched friends combined every ounce of power in their bodies in order to create a necklace of convergent protection and alsoa anti-aging potion of youth, which helped you keep on going all these years." A powerful, full-on power blast sent her hurling against the back and slowly sinking to the ground, groaning in pain.

Nathalie was in trouble, and Flora knew she had to help her, unable to bear seeing the poor woman get hurt by Alaric, but also knew her friends, who were all collapsed from the power/energy drain and exhaustion from trying to fight off the barrier and unconscious from the tainted stench of smoke, desperately needed her help first. Quickly, with not that much time left, she ran toward the barrier holding them and hit it with everything she got. She fired it with blossom blasts, petal explosion, thrones and vines, and it seemed to be a century before the spells seemed to have taken affect on the barrier, slowly weakening before it disappeared altogether.

"Girls, guys, Helia!" She cried as she ran toward them. Smell of smoke was strong on their clothes and hair, and they were still unconscious. She quickly checked their pulses and sighed in relief, when she saw they has had pulses still going strong and were breathing, more heavily than she would have liked though. She used her ivy vines to wrap them up and bring them closer to her. Using the healing power of her fairy dust, she flew over them and flocked her wings together, watching as the dust spill from her wings and sprinkled all over their bodies from head to toe and watched the dust do their work in healing them.

For awhile nothing seemed to happening. They were all lying in her ivy wrap unconscious, and she had no choice be to wait and watch for any sigh, feeling time that was going by felt like a century. Tecna was the first one to slowly wake up, coughing into her fist and practically coughing out a lung, before shaking her head to ease the dizziness.

"Tecna." Flora happily cried, landing near her coughing friend, and pulling her into a hug. Tecna was slightly confused for a second or two, but soon returned the hug afterwards and did it with a smile.

"Thanks for the save, Flora." Nabu said, after the others slowly woke up one by one, with him being the last to come through the unconsciousness.

"Are you guys alright?" she asked, unsure whether the amount of fairy dust she sprinkled onto them was enough to properly heal them or if she was going to need more.

"You mean besides having no other choice but watching what that creep was doing you while we were being trapped inside a barrier draining our powers and nearly suffocating to death by the fire's smoke?" Stella paused dramatically, pretending to think about the answer while she placed one hand at her hip and scratched her chin. "I say we're just dandy."

Flora shook her head at Stella's sarcasm, but still didn't hesitate pulling her into a tight hug. She hugged each and every one of them but saved Helia for last, throwing her arms around his neck and kissed him breathlessly, smiling and almost crying in joy when she tasted those magnificent spraks slipping off his tongue and felt him also responding to the kiss as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him.

As Flora ran her hand through his hair, Helia suddenly jerked in pain and quickly pulled back from the kiss when he felt a painful burn in his scalp. "What was that?" he asked.

"I don't-" She started to say, but then remembering about two certain marks on her wrists still burning pain to her each time their glow pulse. She couldn't show them to her friends, not ready to face their reactions and questions, and placed her hands back on her lap.

"What are you hiding?" Bloom asked, taking note of the swift movement Flora did.

"Nothing." She insisted.

"Didn't look like nothing. Show me your hands." Bloom said, not waiting for her response and was already trying to wrench Flora's hand from her lap, finding herself being pulled into what seemed to be like a tug of war.

"Bloom, I said it's nothing." Flora exclaimed, trying to keep the marks hidden from her friends while also slapping Bloom's hands away.

"Didn't seem like anything." Bloom argued back. Finally she was able to pull Flora's hands away from her lap, turned them around to see what she was hiding, and she and the others gasped at once when they saw the ruby red, glowing sinister 'S'. "Oh my gosh!" she murmured, and then looked up at Flora, who had her head down in shame and biting her lip to prevent tears from falling again.

"Did that creep do this to you?" Helia demanded.

Flora wouldn't look up at him, so he grabbed hold of her chin and titled her chin up so she would meet his eyes. His hardened face instantaneously softened to concern when he saw un-shed tears forming in Flora's eyes. She nodded her head miserably and said in a low mumble "As soon he grabbed me again, I felt that burning sensation traveling all throughout my body and then when he let go, theses were blazes onto my wrists."

"What are they?" Timmy asked.

Stella eyed them for a minute, trying to make sense what the symbol means, and curiosity got the best of her and she hesitantly touched the right mark. Then she immediately flinched in pain and cried out when she felt a jolt, blazing mad as fire, burnt her finger. "Okay, whatever the heck they are, they sure are hot! Literally!" she said as she shook her hand around to cool off the burning pain.

"They sure don't look like tattoos." Sky said, peering closely at the marks.

"Really?" Riven asked, putting on a fake bewildered face, not even bothering to hide the sarcasm in his voice. "Now, what gave that away? The fact some guy's touch imprinted the symbols onto her wrists or by the way they glow so brightly in the forsaken moonlight?!"

Sky opened his mouth to say a nasty comeback to that comment, until he spotted an energy blast hurling toward him. It was too quick for him to dodge, so it hit him right him at the head, knocking him head-first down to the ground.

"Sky!" Bloom ran over her boyfriend's aid, grabbing his hands and slowly helping him up.

"What the heck was that?" Brandon said, but soon got blasted by the small blast at the chest and knocked hard onto the ground.

"Snookums!" Stella cried.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry too much about your precious boyfriends, fairies." Alaric smiled wickedly, two power balls fired up in his hands and ready to be aimed at their next.

"Hitting specialists when they're caught off guard is really low, dude." Musa scowled.

"Acting low and nasty is the two things I specialize in my dear. Besides it was the only way to shut those two idiots up long enough to answer your question." He cast away the dark balls as he realized he won't need them now since he caught their attention. "To answer the question the blonde-haired buffoon who was so curious to know about the brand, it's the baring mark of the dark midnight Raven, an ancient dark power as old as the magical universe itself and is even more powerful than the mighty Dragon Fire. The 'S' your friend wears on your wrists are the same ones the ancient Raven wore on her forehead, which stands for sinister, and because the marks appear on your friends' wrists, then that means she is actually whom I thought she was, which makes this very wonderful for me indeed."

"I don't know what the hell you are up to, but I do know is that one way or another is that you're getting out of here," Helia said as he stood up and protectively stood up in front of Flora, eyeing Alaric with undoubtedly hatred firing in his eyes. "You've already taken something from me, Alaric, and I refuse to let that happen again. You heartless, malevolent bastard from the cold depths of hell."

"Bastard? Really? You know for all these years I've been practically called the same names over and over again that it gets incredibly tiring. Monster, bastard, asshole, demon, and, of course my personal favorite, devil. But honestly, you would think years later people would come up with more original names. Something creative no one has thought to say before." He said with a simple shrug.

"Well a bastard is what you really are!" Stella said, smirking as she watched anger hardening his face. "And everything else other person or Nathalie called you says so much about your personality, you jackass."

What a minute Nathalie! Flora remembered how Nathalie's words caused Alaric's anger to spark mad like a volcanic eruption and had him firing powerful blasts of energy at her. Last time she saw her, Nathalie was trying to hold on while Alaric keep attacking her more with those blasts. "What have you done to Nathalie?"

Alaric arched his eyebrow up, trying to act innocent while his cold smile gave him away. Finally he sighed and gestured his hands at the barrier keeping Nathalie prison. The girls and boys both gasped in shock and horror when they saw an in-and-out conscious Nathalie sprawled on her back, moaning in pain, and the black flames encircling around her and getting quickly closer to her inch by inch.

"Nathalie!" Stella exclaimed, unsure why but couldn't stop the worried feeling piling up inside her. Nathalie might be annoying in her option, but didn't mean she didn't want to see the poor woman get eaten up by flames when she was knocked out. She couldn't explain why, but sudden, strange yet vague overprotective feelings came over her and she knew she had to protect her.

Flora was astonished to see the deeply concerned, anxious and also fearful expression on Stella's face when she eyed Nathalie. The raw feeling of protectiveness and concern were present in her friend's golden, the same kind of expression you see an older brother or sister have in their own eyes as they try to protect their younger siblings.

"Let her go!" Bloom said.

"I don't understand why you believe I should let her go. Aren't you fairies the one who said she treated your friend horribly?" Alaric asked, nodding his head toward Flora.

"That doesn't mean we want her to die." Layla clarified.

"So you better let her go!" Musa added.

"Oh, don't worry. More than anything do I want to see the little brat on her deathbed, along with the rest of you buffoons, but why do it now when I have other important things to take care of? I wasted so much socializing, I didn't find out what I needed to find out. And I, of course, need your pretty little friend to do it." Alaric pointed his finger right at Flora, who gulped down a nervous and scared lump in her throat.

"If we you want, Flora, then you're going to have to get through us first," Bloom challenged, and then turned to the others, who nodded back. "Enchantix time, girls."

"Let's do it!" They cried, pumping their fists in the air and waiting for themselves to be transformed. Seconds passed and still nothing happened. They were still in their regular form, all expect for Flora.

"What the hell?" Musa said. "We can't transform."

"Our powers must have been significantly drained while we were trapped inside the barrier," Tecna said, glancing down her hands and trying with all her might to transform, which unfortunately couldn't be done. "Which means it's going to take a long amount of time for them to regenerate."

"Don't worry, girls!" Sky said, as he and the guys stood in front of their girls and didn't hesitate taking out their weapons. He, Brandon, and Riven came out with their swords, Timmy with his laser gun and Helia with his laser glove, and Nabu was all set with his staff.

"As much as I would love fighting you buffoons off, which honestly wouldn't take that much time beating you, I don't have time to play right now. So be good boys and girls and sit." A loud clap of his hands sent a powerful thunder vibration bouncing on the ground, knocking them all onto the ground, sprawled on their backs. The wind intensified, blowing impossibly, that was scattering them apart, all expect for Flora, who was encircled into a wind tornado and was being dragged into a black circle in the center of the quad Alaric's lightening was drawing onto the ground, which he was also sprinkling with some black power he retrieved from his jacket's pocket.

"Help!" She cried, her hands trying to find anything to hold onto but she was too slow to find anything and was close to be sink into the wind's tornado.

"Flora, no!" Helia yelled, grabbing onto her hand and holding on tight with all his might, but the wind was too strong and he knew sooner or later he was going to lose his grip.

"Hang on, Flora!" Stella said.

"Helia, please don't let go!" Flora begged.

He couldn't make that promise because he could already feel his grip weakening and her hands slipping from his. He grunted, trying to hold on tighter, but that wasn't enough and he saw the terrified expression on Flora's face before she was stuck into the tornado. "No!" He yelled.

Flora was being spun around and around inside the tornado as it came closer to the circle, but once it reached its distinction the wind decreased and she was sprawled onto her back. She groaned in pain as she slowly got up, feeling so weak and her movements unsteady, but her aches and pains were quickly forgotten when she saw Alaric's smug smile spread wide on his face. But before she could open her mouth to say anything and blast him with an energy burst, Alaric winked once before he snapped his fingers, causing the powdered dust sprinkled onto the circle to rise up from the ground and form a bubble of negative energy. Flora outstretched her arms, prepared to do a double blast spell, but that seemed to be the wrong move to make, because the moment she spread out her arms, red power lightening shocks spouted from every corner and blazed their shocks onto her skin. The shocks were powerful for her to handle on her own, the strong intensity of cold, dark magic immediately overshadowed her powers and she transformed back, and she opened her eyes and was shocked to see the mark appearing onto her legs and arms. She screamed out loud from the burning pain.

"FLORA!" Her friends cried.

Nathalie finally came back from her unconscious trance, rubbing her head aching with pain, and darted her eyes over where she saw Flora being trapped inside the black circle. But then her eyes widened at once when she realized what she was seeing, and she quickly turned her head to the sight she was seeing, praying she was still knocked out and not seeing what she was seeing. "Heavenly sun, moon, and stars, please no."

The circle began to open just a bit, and Flora was flowing out from it. From the look of her daze eyes, her friends couldn't tell if she was awake but were shocked to see red colors slashing onto her bare arms and legs as she was levitating high in the air. Up closer, the red colors began forming into letters in Gothic italicizes and finally blazed onto her forehead was the infamous sinister 'S'. She closed her eyes once before she slowly re-opened them again, no longer the beautiful emerald shade they were all used to.

They weren't even to be considered eyes anymore. There were no pupils or irises, just black balls quickly brightening into silver before taking on a ruby color.

She titled her head up, and her opened eyes looked up to sky and shot fiery red beams to the high heavens, gathering up all the dark energy around her. The black energy massively increased and was spreading wide, stretching out the length of the whole sky.

A gigantic raven, created from the dark energy, was hovering in the air, looming over like a fearsome god and was becoming one with her. The bird's beauty was both breathtaking and frightening, the color so dark it was midnight. The wings were opened wide, as if she was about to take flight, and her beak opened wide to shriek her eerie sound, sounding almost beautiful but also incredibly fearful.

"What the hell is that?" Stella yelled, pointing at the raven bird.

"The shadow of the Dark Raven," Alaric smiled wickedly like the true villain he was. "Magnificent, isn't it?"

The wind began to pick up, whipping the rain trough the air like glass, Lightening tore across the sky. Thunder crashed so loud the ground shook.

"Flora!" Helia screamed desperately through the loud, wild storm. "Flora! Flora, can you hear me?!"

Her eyes glowed brilliant ruby and her friends took that as a slight sign she could hear them. One last, incredibly loud and powerful thunder and lightening cracked across and tore across the sky, before the gigantic bird disappeared all together and the marks on Flora's skin vanished along with it. A small groaning sound escaped her lips only once as she closed her eyes, the brilliant ruby slowly turning back to emerald green, and she then was falling from her sky.

"Morphix slide." Layla mustered up all the strength and remaining power she had within her to create the huge slide, and sighed in relief when she saw Flora landing safely on it and was sliding down toward them.

Helia cradled Flora's limp form into his arms, as if he was caring for an infant, and gently slapped her cheek to wake her up. "Flora, wake up. Come on, nap time's over." He said, trying to shake her gently to help her came through her unconscious stage, the girls gathered around and helped him gently shaking her body. But nothing seemed to be working, she was knocked out cold and her body was limp and practically lifeless.

"No," he said miserably, so close to crying. He then looked up at the monster standing in front of her, smirking evilly as he eyed him and her friends trying to wake her up. "So help me, God, when I'm through with you, you're going to be screaming at the top of your fucking lungs for mercy."

"What the hell have you done to Flora?" Musa screamed.

"I simply helped create the black circle. Whatever happened inside, was the ball working on its own," Alaric shrugged innocently and his malicious smile widened. "But this is so wonderful. The ashes of the raven and black circle accepted her, and the raven's shadow appeared, which means she is exactly whom I thought she was. Your darling little friend is the reincarnation of the darkest, most powerful witch ever to live. The reincarnation of the angel of darkness, Libitina."

"What?!" They all exclaimed, shocked by what he just said and how the name seemed way too familiar to them, even though they couldn't specifically place it.

"You know what's so funny? Your headmistress, Ms. Faragonda, and Nathalie knew exactly who she was the minute they met her, but were too cowardly to say anything or even admit it," Alaric turned his head toward Nathalie and Ms. Faragonda, who thankfully was still holding out even though black fire was getting closer to her. He smiled at their ice-cold, dark glares, and said to them "Don't give me the death glare, you ignorant fools. You should have told her the truth when you had the chance, which were so many chances to even keep track of, and still you decided to keep your mouths shut. And since you were too cowardly to admit the truth and it was my devoted duty to find out for myself, I took matters into my own hands."

"_DAMN YOU, YOU FUCKING BASTARD, TO HELL WHERE SHIT LIKE YOU BELONGS!_" Nathalie shouted in full-out outrage.

"Alaric, you've interfered long enough and since you found out what you wanted, I demanded you leave immediately." Ms. Faragonda said.

"You're trapped inside a barrier, Faragonda, so you don't have any authority to demand things from me," He aimed a powerful blast that hit her hard in the stomach, and his smile widened as he watched her sinking onto her knees with her hands clenching tightly around her stomach. "Besides, I think it's only fair these petty fools know about glorious prophecy."

"What prophecy?!" Bloom demanded. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"That will reveal to you very soon, and, unless you wished to be graced by my presence, I suggest you ask your bitch of a head mistress about it," Alaric checked the expensive-looking Rolex on his left wrist and pouted when he saw how much time passed. Night time was almost over and it would soon be morning, and he hated the brightness of the sun more than anything, much like the long number of things he despised in this world that also included certain fairies and heroes gathered around him. Especially a certain hero with his long, blue hair tied in a loose ponytail that had his greedy arms wrapped around _her_ waist. "How sad, looks like fun is over." He looked up at the fairies and heroes, all scowling at him with pure hatred blazing in their eyes, and smiled at their hateful expression. "As much as I've enjoyed this little game and had so much fun playing with all of you. I'm afraid it's time for me to make my exit. But don't worry, I'll be back really soon."

The way he was talking told them he didn't make a threat, he made a promise they were certainty he was going to keep. He winked once at them before he snapped his fingers, disappearing once without a trace along with the horrible storm, his blackened flames, and his invisible barriers, which released the people they trapped inside before they vanished.

People were coughing, on account of the smoke they breathed in while they were trapped inside the barriers, and helped one another get onto their own two feet. The fire didn't burn them thankfully, but did destroy every item in sight. The Winx girls and their boyfriends barely acknowledged what was happening all around them, shocked by the truth that was revealed to them, outraged they couldn't protect Flora, and couldn't believe what just happened all together.

They couldn't tell what was worse and shocking to find out:

The fact they learned Flora's the reincarnation of a dark, evil witch, who was apparently the most powerful witch to ever live and was known as the angel of darkness.

A prophecy they still didn't know exact details to, but already knew it had to do with Flora and was fearful

The fact Ms. Faragonda and Nathalie knew the truth but didn't even bother to tell them. Especially to Flora, who had the most right to know the truth.

Which do you think?

**Okay, longest chapter I have ever done. And I would like to thank Toribird98 for helping find the perfect name for our stalker boy. Thanks for all your reviews. You guys rock!**


	7. Chapter 7

_She was in that strange room again. She immediately recognized it the massively huge, bright white room she was in her last the moment she opened her eyes. But the only difference in the room between now and then was that she saw she wasn't alone._

_Bloom, Stella, and Tecna, Musa, and Layla all transformed into their Enchantix form, and were standing eerily still in front of her with bland, expressionless in their dull eyes. Helia was also presented; standing a few feet behind her, with his arms folded against her chest and wore a mask of unreadable, expressionless._

_"Girls!" She was hesitantly suspicious of what was going on, but didn't waste any time running over to her friends._

_The first one she ran over to give a relief hug to was Bloom, but the exact second she threw her arms around her friends' neck, the fire fairy then instantly disappeared. As if she wasn't even there in the first place._

What? _Flora thought, befuddle by her friend's disappearance act. She looked around the big room to find her, but couldn't find the red-head anywhere and was only greeted by her other friends' unreadable stares. She then ran over to Layla watched the same thing happen to her, too. She disappeared into thin air. Stella was already gone before she could reach her, Tecna soon vanished after that before she could utter her name, and Musa vanished right into thin air the second Flora turned around to look at her. Helia was the only one remaining, and Flora quickly flew as fast as she could to get toward him, but the second she was able to grasp his hand, her beloved vanished all with her friends. Leaving her all alone in the white room, this was her exact worse fear._

_"Helia!" She cried out, her eyes quickly glancing all around the place to find him anywhere. "Girls! Where are you? Please don't leave me all alone! I need you, I need my friends!"_

_"Who need friends when you have all the power you could ever want and more?" Flora came to an instant halt the second she heard that voice speak that sentence. That was the exact kind of speech she expected a witch or Alaric to say, but she was simply beyond shocked and speechless when she recognized the voice at once. It was hers._

_**Impossible! **__She looked and traveled all throughout the room to find the voice, but was unable to locate it. But there was something very wrong with it. It sounded exactly like her, but at the same time wasn't a thing like her. It was seemed a bit more mature and also colder, harsher, crueler._

_Before Flora could think of anything else, she stopped thinking and searching as she felt a gigantic wave of the darkest, coldest energy wash over her and that cursed spinning feeling churning wildly inside her. Both were incredibly strong and powerful, too much for her to handle while she was weary and weak. She was down on both knees and shook her tired, aching head she placed her left hand on. The last thing she heard was the sound of cold, cruel laughter echoing throughout the room before she blacked out. _

_When she finally came through, she saw she was placed inside a completely different room. Where the other room was empty and brightened with white-colored walls, this room was dark as pitch-black and there were full-length mirrors surrounding all over with no way out. Each time she looked over her shoulder, tried to make a turn, there was always a mirror in front of her showing her reflection looking scared and puzzled. All around were just her scared, puzzled reflections staring back at her with wide eyes. All except for one._

_Down the farthest to her right was a mirror that held a single crack in the middle, and out of curiosity, Flora went over to take a look. When she looked at the mirror, she sucked in her breath and stared at it wide-eyed. This reflection was drastically different from the others, because unlike the others she didn't show any expression and that was because she was in deep sleep. Or, at lease looked like she had been asleep for a long time with her eyes closed shut, standing up straight and motionless with her arms lying by her sides, and there was no other expression in her face except for peacefulness as she slept on. She was dressed in a simple yet beautiful white, spaghetti-strapped dress with pink roses adorned on the neckline and hem, and her long, caramel hair framed around her heart-shape face and was let down, reaching pass her waist. _

_"What in the world?" Flora muttered to herself, her fears put aside for the moment as she stared at the reflection different from the others._

_Hesitantly, she lifted her left hand and slowly reached out toward the mirror to touch it for a moment. Suddenly, the girl's eyes snapped wide open, as if she sensed Flora's movement, but still didn't move an inch from her still position. She stared at Flora with expressionless, unreadable eyes and Flora stared at her dumbfounded and speechless, not sure what was going through the girl's mind but knew for her she was speechless with so many questions she wanted to ask but none of the words came through her mouth. _

_The reflection then smiled at Flora, wearing a delicate smile on her face that was a drastic change from her unreadable expression and looked so much softer, more beautiful, and slightly nodded her head once, as if to encourage her to continue to reach out toward her, and then began to reach out toward Flora's hand with her own. _

_But then there was a certain sinister gleam in the reflection eyes as their hands were coming closer and closer to each other, her smile curling up wider into something...cold, darker. A smile she barely even recognized and would never believed to see on her face: a smile so twisted and cruel in darkness, colder than anything Alaric could muster up on his good days. _

_"Who needs friends when you have all the power you could ever want and more to go with it?" she smiled darkly. "The Dark Angel was born again to spread mayhem and fear, to claim the entire universe as her own and turn each realm into the Devil's hell, where pain and misery will the be the only thing anyone ever feels and happiness will cease to exist, and she shall take her rightful place as queen of all hell and evil."_At once, Flora woke up with a jolt awakening from her frightening dream and felt confused for some reason as she glanced around her dorm room with a slightly confused frown on her face and saw she was back in her room, lying on her bed. All memories of what happened the night of the dance were erased from her mind, the only thing she recalled was a strange raven bird that looked both beautiful and frightening at the same time, and she couldn't remember anything else that happened except...seeing a vision of herself being with a young man who looked exactly like Helia while she was slow-dancing with him at the party.

The boy's name, she soon figured out after thinking hard through the dizzy confusion churning in her head, was Julio. Julio, someone who was very close and dear to her heart as she was to him, deeply and unconditionally in love with him as he was with her, until something so shocking and terribly unthinkable drove them apart. Something that saddened him with so much grief, as if he has been terribly betrayed by someone he trusted more than anyone else he knows.

Trusted more than anything, but also loved with all his heart and well being.

Flora shook her head to ease the spinning nausea and stop thinking about her train of thoughts, which was quickly filling up with so many thoughts to even think straight. She grabbed onto her the cream-white, soft teddy bear with pink nose, cheeks, paws and bow tied on her head she named Daisy, a childhood toy she had since she was two and always relied on to bring her comfort when things got too complicated for her to handle on her own. She brought her Daisy bear to Alfea since she couldn't bear to leave it alone at her old room back home, and knew she was going to need for moments of comfort, which was one of those very times. She nestled onto the bear's soft stomach, a small smile slowly brightening her face as she felt Daisy's familiarly soft skin brushing against her cheek, and looked at the small tray of white daisies she laid out on her desk and the mini garden she grown around her area of the shared dorm room. Seeing the beautiful plants and flowers made her smile widened just a bit and feel almost better, but it still wasn't enough to make her completely better or stopping the questions piling up in her mind.

For starters, why was she even resting in her bed when she remembered being at the dance? So why was she in bed and how did she even get here when she doesn't remember walking over and lying down on it herself? But more importantly, what exactly happened at the dance? She couldn't remember the exact details that happened at Red Fountain and only recalls dancing with Helia and having fun with her friends, but still had a deep pit feeling in her stomach something else happened. Something very shocking and bad, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't grasp what remained unknown.

Chatta flew into the room and carried a regular-size cup of hot, steaming rose tea, which looked awfully big and heavy for a small pixie to be carrying. She was in the kitchen making the tea for Flora in case she wakened up and was in the mood for something soothing and hot, but while she was making the tea, she had a strong sense something wonderful happened and she had to hurry with the tea. And, as she placed the tea on Flora's nightstand and saw a pair of jeweled-emerald eyes looking back at her, she squealed in absolute joy when she saw her sense feeling was right.

"Flora!" She exclaimed happily, over zealous with her energetic happiness and was cheering loud. It was a behavior very typical, well for her anyway. She wasted no time zooming over to Flora and giving her bonded fairy a huge hug, snuggling onto her cheek. "I'm so glad you're awake."

Flora was still and quiet for a long minute, slightly confused by the pixie's overzealous behavior, until a smile slowly spread across her face and she hugged Chatta back. "Chatta, it's so good to see you." she said.

Chatta pulled away from the hug as she realized there were still over a dozen people who were still worried about the nature fairy, but would be overjoyed when they find out she's okay. "I should go tell the others you're okay. They're going to be so happy when you find out you're okay, probably shower you all sorts of hugs, cards they made so you would have a speedy recovery-"

"Chatta." Flora said politely, knowing once her pixie starts talking, practically nothing stops her big mouth from talking.

"They wanted to stay with you, so they could be there for you when you wake up, but Ms. Faragonda and Gisela told them to go to their classes. Saladin and Cordatora told the boys the same thing, and poor Helia was crushed. Amore thought it was so sweet and romantic how he stayed here with you all night and day since they brought you back to Alfea, always by your side and holding your hand. It was so sweet and romantic-"

"Chatta!" Flora repeated, more loudly this time, but that still wasn't enough to silent the chatter-box pixie and she kept on running her mouth.

"To me, that's so unfair because friends have a right to stay with their friend when they're sick, so they could be there for them when the friend wakes up and want to make sure they're okay. But you know how Ms. Faragonda is. She kept on saying 'I know you girls are worried about Flora, but there are still classes you need to attend and lessons you need to learn.'"

Flora found the only way to shut her mouth was to place her hand over her mouth, smiling knowingly at Chatta's surprised face that quickly turned into an impatient scowl. She slowly pulled her hand away from Chatta's mouth, grabbed the tea sitting on her nightstand, and brought the cup to her lips and drank in a thirsty gulp. She was relieved the tea was helping to calm her nerves, and glad to see things haven't changed that much while she was asleep, which she had a deep feeling was longer than she expected.

When she heard a knock on the door, she took quick sip of her tea and put it back on the table, answering "Come in."

"Knock, knock." Stella smiled as she popped her head in the door, giggling a bit of her own joke. She and the rest of the girls got into the room, went over to Flora's bed, and pulled her into a huge group hug.

Bloom and Layla sat with Flora on her bed, Stella planted her butt on Flora's desk and careful not to crush her things or ruin Flora's flowers, Tecna sat backwards on her desk chair, and Musa sat cross-legged on the floor.

"Are you feeling alright, Flora?" Bloom asked.

Even when Flora nodded, Layla still wasn't convinced and said "Please think to make sure before you answer. Now, are you sure you're okay?"

"A bit fuzzy on the details and my head feels dizzy, but other than that I'm fine." Flora answered.

"Oh no, please don't tell me you don't remember what happened, Flo," Musa shook her head. "Because it was pretty shocking."

"Beyond shocking is more like it," Stella clarified. "For God's sake, it was huge and unbelievable. It would crazy impossible for someone to forget about."

Stella asked her once more if she really couldn't remember anything else besides dancing with Helia, but when Flora said she really didn't remember anything else, she and Musa looked at each other dumbfounded, Layla and Bloom's faces showed concern, and Tecna frowned as she was lost in her thoughts.

"The only other thing I remember is seeing this raven bird. It was enormous and hovering in the sky. It looked so beautiful, so beautiful and frightening all at the same time." Flora added.

"Then it seems Nathalie was right," Tecna said. "Somehow the affect of the raven erased your mind clean with the other memories besides dancing."

Flora laid her back on the pillow and stared up at the ceiling, trying to recap the rest that took place at the dance she simply couldn't grasp in her mind. She slowly closed her eyes, and the second everything went black behind her closed eyelids, over dozens and dozens of quick flashbacks ran through her head, going as fast as lightening. Too many flashbacks to keep track of and caused her head to spin fast around and around. It was if she was caught inside the heart of a tornado, and the air gathering up the powerful wind were the flashes of memory swirling around and around.

There were flashes of the freak thunderstorm tearing up in the sky and ruining the sweet moment between her and Helia, and Alaric descending from the clouds with that cruel smirk she's grown to know so much about. The intense lightening sparking up black fires that were quickly growing and spreading, and the strong, powerful winds blowing everyone off their feet. Alaric knocking everyone out with a powerful bust of lightening and trapping them inside invisible barriers that were sucking their energy and letting fire slip in to burn them to crisp. The barriers were impossible for people to get out from, and her friends unfortunately were caught in one of them-except for her. Alaric's face was both smugly and actually gentle as he said some things to her that shocked her. Saying things about her past life, on her wanting to have extra power because she felt her own weren't strong enough and was willing to have an ancient power more powerful and stronger than the Dragon Fire. And, after she freed her friends from their suffocating barriers, she was pulled into a circle created Alaric's lightening drew onto the ground and sprinkled with dark powder.

After that...after that, she couldn't exactly describe what happened to her after the blasts from the black circle shocked her, imprinting those marks onto her skin, and the circle cracked open and she was levitating up into the air. She wasn't sure if she was even conscious, but what had happened was the same thing she saw in that second vision while she was talking to Nathalie. As she was levitating, those marks were slashing onto her bare skin and the dark energy coming from them strengthened the raven bird.

The names Rosalina, Libitina, Dark Angel, power of the Midnight Raven were juggling inside her head that was giving her tremendous pain as the flashbacks were whirling around inside her head.

"Oh my gosh!" She gasped as the full memory returned to her. She placed one hand against her agape mouth, and her friends could tell by her shocked expression the memory returned to her.

"Are you girls okay? How's Helia? Is he alright? Are Timmy, Nabu, Riven, Brandon, and Sky alright? Was anyone injured?" Flora  
asked them urgently, and more and more questions were spilling from her mouth.

The girls looked at each other for a moment, and Stella, Musa, and Tecna got up and joined the others on the bed. They each took turns explaining what happened after the raven bird deceased.

"Luckily Layla caught you from the sky after you gained consciousness for a moment before you blacked out again and then fell from the sky. She had enough Winx left to make a slide that caught you, and Helia then caught you in his arms when you slide down toward us." Tecna began.

"Unfortunately," Musa said next, with a frown darkening her face. "Alaric disappeared. Just suddenly vanished into thin air as he looked at all of us and winked. The thunderstorm disappeared along with him, and even though no one was terribly hurt, the fires badly charred up a lot of things. The trees, the stage, and some nearby buildings were all burnt down. I talked to Riven this morning before potions class, and he said it was going to take a long time to repair the damages."

Flora let out a sigh of relief when she learned no one thankfully was seriously injured, but was wincing inside as her heart went out to the poor trees she couldn't save.

"More than anything, we wanted to hunt down that creep and were way beyond pissed at him for hurting you and ruining the fun party," Stella said, recalling how her perfect outfit and hair were completely ruined and trashed from the storm. It took her hours to get her hair back to normal, and she had to go through several spell books to find the perfect clothing spell that would restore it back to perfection and put a protection against future stains. "But we knew we needed to get you to back to Alfea."

Layla took over where she left off, saying "Helia never left your side, took his eyes off you, or let go of your hand while the nurse checked you out. We were all there and waiting patiently while she was checking you out. I can't even begin to tell you how _scared_, scared we were. And that was because you were unconscious with barely a pulse and weren't even breathing. The nurse was so scared, too. We all were."

She stopped talking to calm herself down by breathing in a deep breath and swallowing a lump in her throat, blinking her eyes furiously that were starting to sting with tears.

Flora wrapped her arms around Layla, pulled her close, and gently laid her head on her shoulder and held onto her tight while she stroked Layla's dark hair. She looked up at her other friends and saw moisture in their eyes they were trying to blink away. It was clear they were all thinking back to that horrible moment in the nurse's office with her lying flat on the bed, her face pale and body limp and practically lifeless, not making a sound or moving an inch.

"But thankfully," Bloom said, rubbing her eyes hard to get rid of the annoying tears close to falling and taking in a deep breath. "While the nurse was trying to revive you, you opened you mouth and drew in a big, deep breath. You didn't wake up yet, but you still were breathing, some color was returning to your face, and your pulse was slowly getting stronger."

"That's right," Tecna smiled a bit as she remembered the utter relief she and the girls felt when Flora was finally breathing. "The nurse checked you out one more time before she decided you were okay, and we took back to the dorm. Stella used an outfit changing spell that changed your clothes and had you dress in your nightgown, and then we laid you in bed. Helia stayed by your side and held your hand until he and the guys had to leave.

"How long was I asleep?" Flora asked, grabbing her tea and drinking her some sips.

"About two, three, four days tops." Stella shrugged, saying it so causally like it was natural for someone to sleep for that long.

"_Four days?_" Flora exclaimed.

Musa gently shoved Flora back flat on her bed and played with her friend's hair, gently stroking her left bang. "Chill, Flo. Besides you need that rest and you probably still need it."

She shook her head and answered "I feel well rested and I don't want to spend the rest of the day in bed when I already slept for four days lying on it."

With the help of her friends, she was able to get out of bed and stood still for a moment, gathering up all her strength and shaking off the weariness she was feeling in her body. When she was finally able to move on her own again and keep herself steady, she walked over to her closet and brought some fresh clothes, her bathrobe, and a towel, and then headed to the bathroom.

She scrubbed down her teeth long and hard, not wanting to know how bad her breath smells after going four days without brushing. After she brushed her teeth, she took a quick shower and washed her hair for the heck of it. She turned off the water, grabbed her green bathrobe and slipped it on while she tied the towel around her head like a turban, and stepped out the shower and went over to the mirror.

As she wiped the steam off the mirror, she half-expected to see the strange reflection she saw in her dream with that strange, unreadable look on her face that slowly morphed into a delicate smile, which then grew colder and darker with her eyes holding a evil smirk in them. But when she looked at the mirror, all Flora saw was her regular reflection dripping and staring back at her with unreadable, expressionless blank.

Flora sighed as she turned away from her reflection, and resumed back to getting ready for the day. She moisturized every inch of her body with her new raspberry-vanilla baby lotion, and ran a brush through her hair before blow-drying and letting it hang down. She could see her hair has grown several inches longer while she was in deep sleep, and was now reaching her butt. She dressed in a yellowish-green midriff, off-the-shoulder top with puff sleeves, fuchsia faux-wrap mini skirt decorated with strawberries and a thin yellowish-green belt hanging from the top left and crossing to the bottom right, and fuchsia platform wedged sandals.

She went over to her for a quick minute to grab her gold hoop earrings and put a small amount of makeup on her naturally beautiful face.

"So, what did I miss while I was sleeping?" she asked her friends when she was done getting ready. Since she hasn't had a thing to eat in the past four days, she and her friends went to get a snack. While Bloom was inside and picking up something from the huge bake sale happening inside the cafeteria, the others were in the quad and seated on a bench near the fountain.

Bloom returned back to their spot with a box of dozen chocolate-glazed donuts, and took a seat next to Stella. They all dug in and wolfed down the delicious donuts hungrily.

"Same old, same old stuff," Stella answered, licking off the sticky glaze stuck on her fingers. "That just proves nothing is fun when one of the Winx girls isn't involve."

"Besides worrying about you, we've been practically living in the library." Bloom said.

"To find out more about the weird 'S'," Musa said. "And to study for major exams coming up soon."

Hearing about the 'S' sparked Flora's interest. "Did you find anything out?"

Stella answered "Yeah, we did. After searching and searching through practically every book in the library, we finally found a book. Or rather, Nathalie showed us a special book she brought and kept in the library's vault of restricted books. She showed it to us, and the book tells all about it and the ancient Midnight Raven."

"Do you have the book with you?" Flora asked.

Stella snapped her fingers, and a bright glow appeared on her lap. When the bright light vanished, what was left in the place was a light brown hardcover book with no title or design and had dark yellow darkened from age. She handed the book to Flora, who eyed it curiously for a moment before opening the book and flipping through the pages to find something on the raven.

According to legend, on three pages out of the entire two hundred and seventy-three paged book, the dark raven was shortly born after the great Dragon Fire. Long ago, there were disciples who were humble followers of the Devil himself, who was intensified with so much powerful dark magic and gave a good chunk amount of his own dark power to those who were loyal to him, adding that along with the dark powers they already possessed. The group of seven followers, four men and three women, became known as the sinister seven and decided to create a new powerful power that would take over the magical and non-magical universes, which would be far more invincible than the Dragon Fire and spread darkness and evil all throughout the realms.

Combining all their dark powers and using amber dipped in the Devil's power source and amber from the opposite force of the Dragon Fire, which could easily destroy it, the sinister seven succeeded and the Great Raven was born. It was more than hundred and fifty percent more powerful and stronger than the Dragon Fire, more powerful and strong than any magical power in history. Sadness, grief, pain and misery, and insanity and anger were what gave the Raven more strength and power.

It didn't only feed on those emotions, but also consume life forces which can give the dark power a thousand times more power and strength than regular suffering emotions. It can suck the soul of any person with one blast, whether the soul came from a magical or non-magical being, which was why the power was also known for bringing death.

No other realm could even protect itself from the dark power, and soon they all fell into darkness. One by one, the realms have fallen, and the people either became slaves or had their souls sucked from their bodies.

But as the power grew stronger and stronger, it also started to develop a will of its own. It grown far too powerful for the creators to control it any longer, and the power ended up destroying the very people who created it with one, single powerful burst of dark energy.

Reason the power destroyed its creators because it felt like the creators weren't worthy enough themselves to possess its powers. Only someone with great potential and worthiness, whom the power finds interest with, would be able to possess the power.

One day, a group of young wizards and sorceresses used every ounce of power in their bodies and the amount of hope and lightness still left in the universe, and they were able to imprison the raven's power inside an ancient spell book of the darkest spells known all throughout the realms that was created by the original covenant of sinister witches.

Though book imprison the power for more than thousands of years, the raven never lost its' strength and its powers were still extremely strong and powerful. Some say the book had a guardian keeping a watchful eye on it and spent centuries seeking out the right person whom he believed could have full control of the power when he realized he also couldn't possess it.

"Oh my gosh!" Flora muttered to herself when she was done reading. She turned the next page of the book, and the girls inched in closer to get a better look of the picture.

It was the picture of the Midnight Raven, looking just as she remembered seeing it. On her forehead were the infamous, Gothic 'S', and the eyes a deep red shade that matched the color of crimson blood. The bird was flying in the dark skies with her wings spread wide open and her mouth open wide, looking like she was a singing haunting, chilling song thought to be both beautiful and frightening.

Flora shut the book at once and handed it back to Stella. She stared straight ahead without saying a word and sitting eerily still. Her friends started to get worried about her.

Layla shook her shoulder to snap her out of it, and said "Flora, are you okay?"

Flora closed her eyes, snapping out of her train of thoughts, and kept them shut until she slowly re-opened them and glared down at the ground. She shook her head to clear the thoughts filling inside her mind, and said "I'm just a bit overwhelmed."

"All of us are." Tecna said, placing her hand on Flora's other shoulder and giving her a comforting smile.

"But this dark power is extremely powerful," Bloom spoken out loud when she meant to keep that inside her head. "Darker, stronger, and powerful than anything we've ever heard of and in magic history."

"It's like the ultimate power, but way more powerful." Layla added.

Tecna said "Anyone with that kind of power would be impossible to beat and have more than enough power to take over the whole magical dimension."

The girls heard the sounds of levabikes, and saw their guys parking their bikes in front of the school, taking off their helmets and waving and smiling at the girls' slightly surprised faces. After the amount of damage happening at Red Fountain and the guys placed in extra training to prepare them for their final exams, the girls weren't expecting them. But they were more than happy to see them.

"Hey Sky." Bloom cried out as she ran over to him, jumping into his open arms.

"How's it going, beautiful?" He smiled as he kissed her temple, then kissed her lips softly.

"Snookums!" Stella beamed, racing over to Brandon and hugging him tightly. She hasn't heard a single word from him in over two days, and she was going crazy from the little contact they were having.

"Hey there, honey-bear." He replied.

"Hello Timmy." Tecna said, feeling a bit nervous but that didn't stop her from giving him a smile.

"Hey Tec." Timmy greeted, equally happy to see her.

While the bookworms were bust talking about the latest software Timmy put into his computer hardware that was suppose to make his computer go way faster and efficient, Layla wrapped her arms around Nabu's neck and pecked his lips. "So, how are things going at Red Fountain?" she asked him.

"Besides studying for final exams that are coming up soon and going to be crazy harder than last year's, we've been getting a few of our donators to donate money for the damages the fires caused."

Musa hopped on the back seat of Riven's levabike, and smiled as he automatically wrapped his arm around her waist and was smiling just a bit himself. "So, how's the man of action been doing since the dance?"

"Getting better in battle classes and kicking Sky's butt at the last class." He smirked as he was gloating about his success, but Musa rolled her eyes and still smiled.

All the couples were lost in their conversations they were having with each other and seemed happy to be with each other, all except for Flora and Helia.

They haven't seen each other for almost week, or rather Flora haven't seen Helia since she was pulled into that black circle and levitating in the sky while Helia hasn't seen her conscious since the fateful night. They missed each other like crazy and longed to be with each other's arms, but weren't sure how to approach each other after spending so much time apart.

Helia got off his levabike, placed his helmet on his seat, and took small steps toward Flora. After looking at him for the longest time and seeing him walking toward her, Flora took in a deep breath, mustered all the courage she had inside herself, and took small steps toward him. When they were less than a foot away from each other and eyed one another shyly.

"Hi." he said shyly, slowly smiling.

"Hi yourself." she blushed as she smiled back, which made him chuckle a bit since he found it so adorable.

And that was all it took for Flora to break the ice and running toward him at full speed, catching him off guard for a moment when she jumped into his arms. He still caught her though and held onto Flora tightly, wrapping his arms around her waist and burying his head in her hair while Flora nuzzled into his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his neck. Everything that needed to be said was through their eyes as they pulled back and gazed deeply into each other's eyes, emerald green mixing with teal blue, and everything being heard loud and clearly between them.

"Flora." Helia muttered to himself as he pulled her back into a tighter embrace. "I'm so glad you're alright. I can't even begin to tell you how worry I was about you."

Flora pulled back for a moment to cup his face in her hands, gently caressing his cheeks and smiling back at his happy, smiling face and his warm blue eyes that were also smiling at her. She kissed him gently, then pecked his cheek and said "I'm so sorry for the trouble I put you guys through. But I'm better."

"I'm glad." He grabbed hold of her chin, titled her head upwards, and placed a soft kiss against her lips.

"We're also glad, too." The gang broke up their conversations and flirting, and Helia and Flora pulled away from their kiss the second they all heard Ms. Faragonda voice and saw her walking toward them with a kind smile on her face.

Trailing behind her was Ms. Nathalie Shine, who was no longer dressed in a blue cloak the girls saw her and in the blue cloak the girls saw her in and was wearing a white blouse, khaki slim pants, and black heels which to the girls seemed a bit too high for a woman her age to wearing. Her expression cool and unreadable, set to be firm and anything but friendly and warm, and she eyed the gang with narrowed eyes, saving Flora for last again and glared at her with hard, harsh eyes before casting her gaze somewhere else.

"Flora, I'm glad to see you are making recovery. It's good to see you're better, right Nathalie?" Ms. Faragonda turned to the elderly woman, her smile still in tact but her stern firm and stern. When Nathalie folded her arms against her chest and looked the opposite way, still without saying a word, she saw she had no other choice but to elbow her hard on her left shoulder.

Nathalie hissed in pain as she rubbed her shoulder and gave Faragonda an extremely ice-cold look. She still didn't look at Flora, but still managed to say with a stiff tone "It's fortunate you're making a speedy recovery."

Her friends weren't going to tolerate Nathalie's ice-queen act toward Flora anymore, but before they could say something nasty and defend their friend, Flora surprised them by pulling away from Helia's embrace and walking towards Nathalie. She seemed a bit nervous walking toward a woman who really seemed to hate her, but still kept her cool and ground.

She looked at Nathalie for a moment before her eyes flickered to Ms. Faragonda. She took in a deep breath, crossed her arms against her chest, and said "I remember what Alaric said, and he mentioned how you two know something that involves me but still didn't tell me. Whatever it is, I have a right to know."

"And since Flora is our friend, we also have a right to know," Bloom spoke up, walking up to them and standing by her friend. "Ms. Faragonda whatever it is or how bad it might be, we still have a right to know because this is really getting out of hand."

"Bloom's right," Stella said. "First stalker boy follows Flora to the bus station and gives her a scare, Amore has a weird vision about him in her love roses, Flora seeing this weird visions, and the guy crashing the party at Red Fountain and saying some crazy nonsense about Flora."

"I know, girls." Ms. Faragonda said, ashamed she hadn't told them the truth earlier when she had the chance. "You are right about having the right to know about what is happening, and I apologize for not telling the truth earlier. But please know I did that to protect all for you."

"But since the idiot let the cat of the bag, we have no other choice but to tell you the whole truth. And believe me, girls, there is much to tell you." Nathalie said.

A few minutes later, the whole gang was getting settled inside Ms. Faragonda's office. Bloom and Flora took the seats in front of her desk and their boyfriends were standing behind them and resting their hands on their shoulders, the others standing around them, Ms. Faragonda seated at her desk while Nathalie's back was turned to them and she was looking outside through the window.

Ms. Faragonda spent most of those minutes looking down at her folded hands that were lying on her desk. When she realized she had their full attention, she looked up at the young students and locked her eyes with those of the nature fairy. "Tell me, Flora, do you remember what Alaric told you back at Red Fountain?"

"Some of it," she admitted with a shrug of her shoulders. "He was...talking about how good it was to see me again, and saying how much of a disappointment it was that I couldn't remember who he was before he told me his name." she answered.

"Do you recall what he did to you while you were trapped inside the circle?"

"It's really hard to describe what exactly happened," Flora said. "All I can say is those red marks were appearing on my skin, and that 'S' was blazed onto my forehead. I'm not even sure if I was conscious when the circle opened and I was levitating in the air. What I remember is red beams were shooting from my eyes and the huge raven was appearing right behind me."

"The shadow of the Midnight Raven." Nathalie said out loud, naming it before Ms. Faragonda could explain.

The girls were already aware of the ancient dark power and how powerful it was, but the boys still weren't inform of the details, so Ms. F told explained the legend to them. By the time she was finished, the boys' mouths dropped wide with shock.

"Are you actually saying the power destroyed the people who created it in the first place?" Sky asked.

"Yes," Nathalie said, beating Ms. Faragonda to it. "The sinister seven succeeded in creating the ultimate power, but the power was far too powerful for them to control anymore and developed a very powerful will of its own."

"That's what Alaric told me," Flora said, aware of everyone's eyes watching her. "He told me the raven's power believed the creators didn't have the great honor or the potential of controlling it, so it eliminated them all."

Nathalie, for the first time this morning, actually smiled. Except the smile was dry and bitter. "That's correct."

"If anyone had that kind of power, then taking over the universe would be way too easy for them." Brandon said.

"Can you imagine what it would be like if Icy, Darcy, and Stormy had that power?" Stella said, absolutely terrified by the thought.

They all shuddered at the thought. Near the end of freshmen year, the witches managed to steal Bloom's power and added the powerful source to their own dark powers. Though Bloom was able to get her power back and the girls were able to beat the witches, the journey was bittersweet and long before they could reach victory. The witches were nearly impossible to beat, summoned the army of Decay, took over Cloud Tower and destroyed Red Fountain, and were close from keeping over. If those three had the power of the Midnight Raven by their side, then the thought of actually hoping to beat them would be mission impossible.

"That would be a total nightmare." Timmy said, getting chills from the thought.

"It would all have to do with if the power found them interesting and worthy enough to possess its' power," Tecna reminded. "The wizards imprisoned the power inside a spell book that remained trapped inside for centuries."

"But still had a guardian who was said to have spent long centuries seeking out the perfect person who would be able to control the raven's power after he discovered he couldn't." Bloom added.

Flora remembered Alaric saying he was the guardian of the book, and when she told this to the others, she watched their expressions grew even more shocked.

"Alaric said he was the guardian?" Helia asked.

"That's what he told me." Flora said.

"And the sad fact of the matter is that he actually succeeded."

"What?" The girls and guys exclaimed as they turned toward Nathalie, who was still looking out the window and her reflection in the glass was once again unreadable.

"Nathalie, are you serious? Please tell me you're not serious?" Stella pleaded.

"Are you actually saying someone was able to take full control of the dark power?" Layla said.

At that moment, Nathalie turned to face them and her cool, narrowed eyes locked with Flora's. Saying all this without taking her eyes off Flora for even a moment "Not just a someone, a fairy. A fairy who used to have a pure, warm heart of utter caring and kindness, but turned out to be nothing but a horrible traitor and she-devil witch at the end. So many innocent people, including her own little sister, best friends, and lover, were shocked by her unthinkable betrayal, and her very treachery caused the fall of many realms, cost the lives of so many innocent people, and chaos and destruction to spread all throughout the lands. And she proven to be a strong, powerful witch of darkness and had complete control of the whole magical universe."

"So, what exactly does Flora have to do with this?" Helia asked.

"Nathalie arched her eyebrow at him and asked "You do not remember what Alaric said after the raven appeared."

"Oh, we heard and remember what he said, but we still don't believe a single word he says." Layla told her, and Nathalie heard the fierce defensiveness in her tone.

Ms. Faragonda stopped Nathalie from speaking and decided to take over since the woman still had bitter anger that was directly aimed at Flora she wouldn't take control of and knew old bitter feelings were going to take over. She clapped her hands, and a heavy-looking dark-covered book flew off from one of the high shelves of her left bookcase and landed on her desk.

"Flora, my dear, unfortunately you are a very big part or about to become a very big part of this. It's the reason why Nathalie is cold and bitter toward you, and why Alaric is obsessed with you and won't stop until you're within his grasp. And that is because you are the reincarnation of the treacherous fairy that soon became known as the angel of darkness."

"_SAY WHAT NOW?_" Her friends exclaimed, saying it much louder than before. There was no way it could be true. Sweet and gentle Flora, who was the sweetest fairy you've ever meet, actually be related, much less be the reincarnation, to a great dark witch. The thought of it was so wrong and unreal, her friends were shuddering again.

_I'm a WHAT?_ Flora screamed in her head, too paralyzed in shock to even breathe, much less talk.

"That is right, Flora." Faragonda nodded her head, and opened the book. She wasted no time going through the pages to find what she was looking for, and when she finally saw what she was seeking, she showed it to the gang who were entirely speechless.

It was a picture of six young fairies flying in the air and six young men, who were heroes in training, standing below them who looked exactly like...well, them like twins. Of course, there were a few differences in the fairies' first fairy form apparel, Tecna's look-alike had slightly longer hair that looked exactly like Tecna's when she's in Enchantix form while Musa's twin kept her shoulder-length hair locks in pigtails, Timmy's and Sky's hair were cropped and given a buzz cut while Nabu's look-alike had shoulder length hair that was split into two slim braids and resting on his shoulders, and Stella's twin seemed to have the most differences out of all of them. True, she still had Stella's exact beauty and fair skin, but her Winx apparel was in a blue-silver color, opposed to the golden color Stella wore, her eyes were a moon sliver shade and her long blond hair was a shade or two paler than Stella's. But putting the small differences aside, they could still easily pass as twins.

"These are your descendants." Ms. Faragonda smiled only slightly.

"Wow." Nabu mumbled, and that was pretty much how they all felt.

"They were the best of friends and close to each other like any friends could ever be." Nathalie said, her smile losing less of its' bitter edge and became happier as she took a look at the picture.

Flora stared at the picture with dazed eyes, looking like she was lost in her thoughts and thousands of miles away. Aside from the exact resemblance of her friends, she felt strangely connected to them, like she really knew them. Knew everything about them, but feel something else as she looked at each of them a bit longer.

"Luna," She said, pointing to the red-head who looked exactly like Bloom. "Chelsea, Melody, Titania, and Lauren." Looking at the guys' look-alikes and starting with Sky's, she says "Skyler, Brad, River, Timothy, Simba, and Julio."

She stared at Julio's picture the longest, gently tracing the surface of the picture with her fingers, feeling that familiar warmness she had the last time when she had the vision of him, but now the warm affection was mixed with something deeper, sadder. She couldn't explain why, but felt strangely and hugely sad as she looked at him.

_I loved him so much_, she thought, smiling and then looked at the others. _And they were my dearest of friends_.

She felt everyone's shocked eyes watching her but was still caught in her trance. She looked up at Nathalie, who arched her eyebrow at her suspiciously. But looking at her now, Flora didn't see the wise yet bitter woman standing before her, but instead saw a little girl no more younger or older than eleven years ago with beautiful golden eyes filled with child-like amusement, a bright smile always on her face and beautiful golden, long hair, and bared a striking resemblance to her elder sister, Chelsea, whom she admired and adored. "You're Chelsea little sister, aren't you Nathalie?"

Chelsea was shocked by the words coming from her mouth, because it has been so long since she heard that sentence. Been such a long time since she was actually called that. "How did you know that?" she demanded.

"I don't know, I just did," Flora admitted sheepishly, blushing a faded red shade as she looked down at the ground to avoid curious eyes. "When I looked at their pictures, I just knew who they were. When I looked at you, I just saw an image of you as a little girl, a smile on your face, your blond hair always tied in a bun, and her golden eyes always filled with child-like laughter."

"Great heavenly sun, moon, and stars." Nathalie murmured in disbelief. She had known all along whom Flora was, but she never would have guessed the girl would have some memory so soon. She wasn't sure if this should be considered a very bad thing.

"You were her sister?" Stella asked as she pointed to Chelsea's picture.

Nathalie looked down at the picture and in a mere instant, a small smile of happiness was on her face and there was some moisture in her eyes. "I loved my sister very much, and you remind me a great deal of her," she told Stella. "Chelsea always looked to look good no matter where she went and spent a lot of time on her looks, which I can tell you very much do, too. Like you, she wasn't too fond of school and would rather shop and play around with fashion. But as much as she cared about fashion and cared deeply about her friends, she would often let the princess thing get to her head."

"Definitely sounds a lot like Stella." Musa joked, lightly elbowing her. Despite the fact it was a good-humor joke, she still gave her a look.

"Did they all have the same power as us?" Bloom asked.

"Pretty much the same. Titania has powers of technology, whose realm was very much ahead of their time, Melody had musical powers while Lauren could control all forms of liquid with her water-bending abilities and make amazing shapes with Morphix, Chelsea had powers of the moon while the energy of the sun was under my control, and Luna was the keeper of the Dragon Fire," she said. "And the boys were pretty much the same as you boys. Skyler was the leader, Brad was a champion with his fencing skills, Timothy was the smart bookworm who was an expert of tactic strategies, and River was so serious and stubborn about fighting but was still never the less an excellent fighter. Simba was the wizard of the group with resourceful magic, and Julio was a great fighter like the rest, but like you, Helia, he never really believed in battles and was a pacifist."

"Seem the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree, right Helia?" River smirked, nudging him on the shoulder. He smirked even more as Helia turned over to him to give him a dark glare.

"Guess that means, you guys, our friendship ties even more far back than we realize." Musa said.

"What about her?" Layla asked, pointing to a green-eyed, tan-skinned fairy wearing pink fairy Winx apparel, had long caramel hair, and bared an incredibly, exactly-alike right down to the smiling, kind eyes resemblance to Flora.

Almost immediately did they all noticed the undeniable loathing hatred hardening Nathalie's eyes, and noticed how her clenched fists were glowing bright reddish-orange in anger. "Her name was Rosalina. And she was the fairy of nature," She managed to say through her maddening anger. "And turned out to be nothing but a traitorous witch at the end. It was she who the raven finally saw as someone worthy to posses its' power, and the moment she had the great power within her grasp, she became known as the angel of darkness."

"What?" They all loudly exclaimed.

"No." Flora murmured to herself as she looked down at Rosalina, who showed nothing but kindness in her smiling emerald eyes and warm smile. How could such a sweet girl turn into a horrible witch?

"It is sadly true, girls," Ms. Faragonda says. "Emotions can often be an advantage and also disadvantage in our powers, but can often end up controlling us. That is what happened to Rosalina."

Nathalie looked at Flora, who seemed to be having a very hard time digesting all this down. "You are far too much like her in both looks and personality. But like I said before, I consider you the before of Rosalina."

"Before jealousy and dark magic turned her into a completely different person," Flora finished. "Nathalie when you told me this, I never would have...it couldn't...there's no way..."

"But it did. And that's because you underestimated how deep and strong that envy was. She was incredibly jealous of her friends' abilities and believed her own Winx was weak, and that jealousy drove her absolutely mad. When Alaric told her about the Midnight Raven, she didn't think of anything else except having that power." Nathalie turned back to the window and watched the outside world with dazed eyes. "The minute the dark power sank deep in her veins and became one with her, her heart that was once so pure of gold became nothing but a dark, cold shell of hollowed darkness. She became known as the angel of darkness, changed her name to Libitina, which means goddess of death, and was far too powerful for anyone to stop. With the power of the Midnight Raven and the massive armies of Shadow Demons she summoned, Libitina was able to have complete control of all the realms and made the entire magical universe into the Devil's horrible hell. Inflicting pain and misery wherever she went, making innocent people either her slaves or sucking the souls from their bodies, and smirking in cruelty at all the destruction she was causing. It was impossible and absolutely unbelievable to see someone who used to be so kind, sweet, and warm like sunshine, so protective of her friends and would always put others' needs before her own, turn into something...as unspeakably dark, wicked, and _cold_ as ice. Even the word cold doesn't seem to be the right word to describe how she became. _Heartless_ seems more like the perfect word to describe her. Absolutely heartless and showed no mercy to anyone."

"When you say no on," Flora said in a quiet mumble. "Do you mean...?"

Nathalie nodded only once. "That's right. Her own friends were no exception."

The more and more they were talking about this girl, the more nausea Flora's stomach would feel and uncomfortably churn sickeningly. She was beyond the state of discomfort and shocking, and she was as still as a statue who couldn't get oxygen in or out her mouth. Helia felt the tension stiffening in her body beneath his hands, and gently squeezed her shoulders to relax her, but saw what little help it did for her.

Ms. Faragonda walked over to her tall left bookcase and gently tapped against her left hand that was glowing with white magic. She stood still for a moment and watched as the book shelf was split into two halves, revealing a secret passageway, and gestured her hand toward it.

Eyeing it suspiciously, Bloom entered with curious. Soon after her, Stella and Tecna who looked at each other first before heading down, then Layla and Musa, Flora and Helia, Sky and the rest of the guys and Nathalie, and Lastly Ms. Faragonda , who closed the passageway before joining the others.

The passage led them through a long stone staircase in what seemed to be like to be a dark tunnel.

"I thought I knew practically every room and place in Alfea, but I guess I was wrong." Bloom whispered to Stella.

The tunnel was pitch-black and it was impossible to see anything. When they finally reached the end of the staircase, they saw they were standing in front of huge two locked doors. Ms. Faragonda clapped her once, and the doors slowly opened by themselves.

Inside the room was one very much similar to the school library, but held even more books on every subject known to men. Ancient artifacts were held inside glass containers, shelves filled with an endless supply of over a billion books, was lit up by a ring of torches hanging from the ceiling and also by some dim lights, but what made the room even more striking was the fact there were portraits of villains the girls were familiar with and weren't familiar with. Portraits of the Trix witches hang by the left corner, a full-length picture of Baltor smirking in cruelty hang on the wall, and by the right side was one of Lord Darkar looking every bit as creepy and scary as the girls remembered. There was also a portrait of four young, dark wizards whom the girls weren't familiar with.

"What is this place?" Flora asked, looking around the place with awe.

"You could say it's a cross between a library and a secret vault. Most of the spell books and scrolls in this very room contain very powerful spells that can also dark magic and spells within them." Ms. Faragonda said.

"Then shouldn't they be at Cloud Tower?" Stella said. She thought she could find some more fashion spells, but if they have dark magic that would trash her wardrobe, then she could forget about it now.

"When I said there is dark magic in it, what I mean is that the scrolls and books are crossed between good and bad magic," Ms. Faragonda explained. "So that means it is neither good nor evil."

"So, it's like gray magic?" Nabu questioned.

"Exactly." She nodded.

"What's with the pictures of the baddies?" Musa asked.

"Shows past villains in Magix History. All of you should be informed of every villain who was impossibly strong and hard to beat, and every person in the room came very close to having full domination of the magical universe." Ms. Faragonda said.

"But none of them came even close to full domination and mayhem unlike her." Nathalie said, walking over to the huge portrait plastered at the wall in front of them that was covered with a white veil. "Behold Flora, the angel of darkness."

And with being said, she slowly pulled off the white veil and tossed it aside. The young fairies and heroes in training felt like their eyes were playing tricks on them. Poor Flora was a second or two away from blackening out.

The girl in the picture was Flora as Rosalina-Libitna. She looked exactly like her like a twin sister, and yet she didn't seem like her. Long caramel hair was framed around her beautiful heart-shaped face, her eyes that were once the beautiful shade of emerald green were ruby red and filled with ice-cold evil and held spine-tingling fear within them, and her smile...was so cold and evil and twisted, it gave Flora chills crawling up her spine just by looking at it. It was blood-curling, fearful, and promised eternal misery and suffering written all over it. She was dressed in all black: a shimmering, black leather cat suit and metallic breast plate, and black chunky stiletto-heeled ankle boots. And she was carrying a staff that was similar to Stella's sun staff, except it was black with beads of midnight black and scarlet red swirling around it and the centerpiece was the crescent of the Midnight Raven. Heavy black mascara and eye shadow were caked around her eyes, and were done in a smoky eye look, which made her look as much as a Goth and terribly frightening, and her lips were painted in a glossy rose red. Placed onto her head was a small black/red beaded tiara that had the sinister 'S' and the raven crescent as the centerpiece of the crown.

All around her, her friends gasped, murmured quietly to themselves or to someone else, saying comments in disbelief, and she felt several eyes glancing back and forth from her direction to the portrait.

She could sense the great shock coming from them and their body language, felt all their eyes focusing on her now, and she was given their full attention and could tell they were all waiting for her reaction to this. She wasn't sure how her facial expression looked on the outside, but on the inside she was numb by the intensity of shock rippling through her body. She felt like fainting, felt her eyes burning from the un-shed tears that were close to rolling down her cheeks, and had a desirable urge to vomit her guts out at the moment, but most of all she wished the day would start all over again and she'd be awaken from this nightmare. More than anything she wished this was some kind of twisted joke or dream that would end soon.

But looking longer at the picture of the evil girl whose resemblance was extraordinary to her, the young fairy knew she wasn't dreaming. She was living a dark, hellish nightmare, featuring her in a past life as the dark villain.

The room suddenly was titled to its side, and her head spun wildly around and around. She slowly sank to the ground, onto her knees, tightly clutched her hands around her stomach, and firmly pressed her lips in a tight line after feeling her stomach doing back flips and felt a dying urge to throw up. Her vision was playing tricks on her, making everything she sees turn into three copies. Helia turned to her and knelled down beside her, placing one hand on her back to gently

"Flora, are you alright?"

She tried talking, but couldn't even breathe. She was finding it impossible to let oxygen into her lungs and exhale. She swallowed a huge lump that was clogged into her throat, feeling tears burning in her eyes.

The tipsy room was suddenly spinning, everything moving around and around like a spinning cup ride and she couldn't hear her friends calling out to her. Their voices were all mixed in together into one sound that quickly went mute. Everything seemed to have blackened then and she was once again swept away in it.

_Screams of the frightened and laughs of the wicked filled the air with sound. On the streets, statues of rebel fighters and traitors were molded on the ground, their expressions showing fear and pain that showed their struggle as they tried to fight off the ghouls dragging them underground to their doom. The disturbing centerpiece was a cruel reminder to anyone who dared question her authority or power, showing the dying consequences if they wish to challenge her and lose their life. Posted on top of the remaining ruins of collapsed, destroyed buildings were beautiful black birds, their eyes deep crimson and the shade of blood, and their beaks opened wide to sing their beautiful song before flying away. _

_Despite the chaos happening around, the young woman sat calmly in her black and red bejeweled throne, which was flowing high in the sky and gave her a perfect view of all the horrible destruction happening. It was all so horribly wrong yet she was smiling. Her face seemed to be covered by the dark shadows-all expect her magnificent ruby eyes, a bright and marvelous shade of red, and her dark smile so twisted, bathed with disturbing evil. _

_The queen of evil. _

_Flora was now part of the flashback, standing in the ruined streets and staring at the dark queen with awe as she rose from her throne and stepped out from the shadows, revealing her identity. _

_Flora gasped the second she saw the queen's face, feeling like she was really in a crazy nightmare. She was looking into her face, as if she was seeing herself in a dark evil image but even more horrifyingly than she imagined it to be liked. _

_Libitina took one around the area, and slowly a cold smile spread across her face until widen into a satisfied, dark grin. Her long hair was let down and flowing in the eerie winds, the flames around her gave her more edge, and her brilliant red eyes gleaming with cruel laughter as she looked around at all the destruction she was causing and drinking it all in. The more she drank in, the brighter her eyes gleam and her smile grew more twisted. Finally, right on cue, she threw her back and let out an evil laugh, much more wicked and cold than any laugh a villain has ever made. _

She finally snapped put from the twisted nightmare. But as she was awakened, she was shocked to see she was lying on the ground and being carried in Helia's arms, and everyone gathered around them and staring at her with worried eyes while Nathalie looked at her with no expression in her eyes or face.

"Flo, are you okay?" Musa asked.

"You just fainted." Helia informed her.

Flora couldn't reply, because right now she was focusing on her breathing and doing everything in her power to relax her heart that was doing overtime. Everything was so dizzy and confusing; she couldn't think and doubted she could even breathe anymore.

Out of confusion and the flash of anger burning through her, she got off of Helia's arms and ran out the room, up the staircase, and out the office as fast as she could. She heard the others coming after her and heard them calling out to her, but she still didn't stop and needed to get away.

She ran to the deepest part of the forest her friends would have hard trouble finding on their own without her help. There, she went down the farthest clearing. Tall trees hid the sun from view, only allowing some sunlight to leak through the branches, the clearing was cut into a perfect halo surrounded by flowers and there was a small pond in front of them. This would be the perfect place for someone who wanted to be alone to come down and think for awhile, to have a hiding spot for awhile from their own world.

Flora kept walking and walking until she was standing in front of the pond, sat down on the warm grass, and waited for a few moments before she finally cried. She didn't make a single sound as the tears silently rolled down her cheeks and fell into the pond's water. She wasn't sure how long she stayed there in that position, sitting cross-legged on the grass and her head looking down at the pond, whose water was being mixed with her hot tears.

"It's so heartbreaking to see a beautiful rose reducing to a black willow," said a voice. "Tell me, my dear, why do tears fall from your eyes?"

"Go away Alaric." She demanded. She already knew it was him before the voice of the nature informed her of his presence, because she had gotten so use to his smug voice, and knew right away it was him speaking to her.

"Why leave when there's a beautiful fair maiden who need me to give her comfort, which I'm more than happy to give?" Alaric said.

She said nothing to him after that and didn't bother to look his way, but that didn't stop Alaric from watching her a few more minutes in silence and studying her to figure out what the problem was. After watching her tears flow more and more down her face, he figured out the mystery and sighed quietly as a small smile was playing on his face.

"My dear, there is nothing to be upset about. So, there is really no use for your tears." He said.

"Don't tell me you're a mind-reader, too?" Flora was shocked by the sharp, harsh whip of her tone, but pushed that thought away.

"Sadly no. Immortality gives me eternal youth and beauty, and my powers are strong but they do not give me the ability to enter someone's mind and hear their inner thoughts. Though, I would like to have that power," He added the last part for kicks to at least attempt to make her laugh, but saw what little help it was doing. Feeling slight frustration and exhaustion after thinking of ways to make her stop crying, he sighed again. "I don't understand the point of your tears. If anything, you should be happy."

"Happy?" She stood up from the grass and wiped her tears away from her eyes, and turned to Alaric. A light was flashing in her eyes as she stared at him in disbelief, which was no doubt anger. "What makes you think I should be happy?"

"Because you've finally been told the truth about yourself, which I can only presume would make any girl happy. More and more of your memories will return to you, Libitina, my beautiful angel of darkness."

Hearing that name caused her mind to show that image of the dark angel. Of the girl who betrayed her friends, spread darkness at every realm, and smiled coldly and laughed at someone's pain and misery. That name fired up anger in Flora's body, which she was desperately trying to keep under control.

Taking in a deep breath and slowly letting it out, she said to him "As far as I'm concerned, Libitina is no more. She is dead, Alaric, and if you want to be with her, I suggest you then die."

Just as she expected, he smiled, only it wasn't the dark and cruel smirk she was expecting to see on his face. It was a small, gentle smile. "You and I both know that is not true, my dear." Before she could suck in her breath, he was already standing right in front of her in a blink of an eye, and had his hand pressed her chest. Not in a perverted way, just leaning his hand against her chest where her heart was at. "Libitina is still very much alive. She still lives inside of you, and I could feel the great power of the raven pulsing through your veins. It's your destiny, Flora, to let Libitina take full control and let darkness spread all throughout the lands. Whether you like it or not, this is one destiny you can not run or hide away from."

"You're crazy if you think I would ever let that witch take control of me. Even crazier if you think I would fulfill any destiny that has to do with me helping evil. I won't stop for that nor would I allow that to happen." Flora said.

"That's funny, because you make it seem like you have a say in this. Let me assure you, you have absolutely no say in the destiny." Alaric smirked, but then his face softened. "Believe me when I say I care so much about you and only wish to help you."

_Help her?_ That she found unbelievable. Flora was more than tempted to shout nasty words to him, but instead she was silent as she remembered what Amore said about the exotic rose petal that held into her hand, the second man whose heart was also captured by her: has been madly in love with Flora practically... forever, since before she was even born. The dark red streak shows deep affection and mad obsession, which means he's as much obsessed with Flora as he is in love with her. The obsession is very mad, very alarmingly, and the blackened color on the tip shows cold darkness. He's willing to do anything possible for her to feel the same way about him, and will do absolutely anything for her to be his and his alone. The love he feels for her goes farther back beyond her birth. Centuries even.

This now explained things. Alaric's love for her goes back to long centuries because he was in love with her when she was Rosalina/Libitina, her past live. He was an admirer from her past.

So the question now remaining was did she feel anything for him when she was Rosalina? When she saw the vision of the two of them, it seemed she was polite with patience but also annoyed by his flirting games and messing with her head. Those were the exact same things she was feeling now. But did those feelings of annoyance change after she got the power and became the dark angel?

Flora tried to reflect back on the recent moments she shared with him. First time they met, he was creepy and wicked; second time, he was still the same but also showed some gentleness she never knew he could muster and found herself a bit draw to it. He told her the truth because he knew she had a right to know, unlike her headmistress who waited four years for the truth to come out.

Looking up at his sudden, unreadable eyes and expressionless face, she asked "So, what exactly are you? A wizard, a shape-shifter, or a demon disguised as a man?"

He smiled at her, a very gentle smile she thought made him look...more beautiful than his dark ones. "I cannot shape-shift, sadly, but I'm still an immortal with powers."

"Were you born that way or did someone change you?" Flora said. "Also...why were you chosen to be the guardian of the power?"

"That would take some time of explaining." Alaric said.

It wasn't as if Flora planned to go back to school anytime yet and face her friends after learning the horrible truth about herself. Flora waved her hand over the grass, her fingers lightly brushing against it, and a glow of light green nature powers made two tree stumps to rise from the ground. She took a seat on one while Alaric seated at the other, which was across from her, and waited until he was sure he had her full attention before talking.

"My mother and father were very loyal allies to the Devil, who was a god to those on the dark side. When I was born, the Devil took one look at me as a tiny infant and knew the dark evil and wickedness that would gradually grow in my heart as I mature. That pleased him very much that such a young infant would soon be a dark tyrant in the black arts and that made me very worthy to him, but he didn't want to wait for me to grow up. He ordered my mother to dip me in the deep depths of his blackened pool of immortality, which was a very rare opportunity that less than a few allies would actually be offered the chance. I don't remember that much of the bath because I was still very small, but do recall feeling darkness wash over me and incredible power pulsing through my veins. When my mother slowly drew me from the pool, I grown into a twenty-one year old man and quickly became a very valuable ally to the Devil. My relationship with him was much different from his with his other followers because I saw him as a father-figure and he saw me as a son of his own, the son he said 'Wouldn't prove to be a useless, wasted son.' He was like a second father to me, but I considered him to be my only father since my first one I found to be useless and worth nothing more than a grain of sand."

"So you were like a son to the Devil?" Flora said.

"Yes," He nodded. "Like everything an evil father does with his own children, he taught me how fight and how to master my powers. Though he didn't show any mercy to me when he had his fighting lessons with me, he taught me to never hold back, show no mercy to anyone, and spare no one. Whether it be man, woman, or child. He taught me in the field of war and battles, blood must be shed and sacrifices must be made before one can gain control and power. Showed me the dark arts of my magic, teaching every dark spell and powerful spell known to man and the wonders of destruction and evil known to dark forces. Taught me the beauty of utter destruction, the satisfaction of wickedness and mayhem, and the undeniably, indescribably sweetness of watching another in pain and suffering." Being swept away in old memories, Alaric's coal eyes were smiling in absolute cold cruelty as he remembered his lessons with the dark one.

"You're immortal, right?" He nodded, and Flora continued with her question. "So, are you the kind that drinks another blood in order to survive?"

"You mean like a vampire," Flora didn't reply, but Alaric could already see the answer to that question as he looked into those sharply suspicious eyes. He held in a chuckle, the smile on his face widening. "I seem to have all the qualities as they do. Looks so stunning and crafted with undeniable beauty, captivating eyes that will easily have someone under my control, my body with the same tough hardness as the most strongest and firmness steel that would be more than impossible to destroy, gifted with a charm that can be very manipulating, the fact I don't need regular food or drinks in order to survive and am considered a demon since I will never age a day older and my wounds will always heal no matter how deep the bruise is. Watch."

Without even turning around or taking his eyes off Flora, Alaric was able to use telekinesis to break a piece of one of the branches of the trees and carved it down to a sharp dagger. Then the dagger flew over to him and landed on his left hand. Alaric held the knife in front of him, smiled that odd yet nice gentle smile at Flora's curious face, and then, without warning, used the dagger to stab his arm.

Flora gasped at once at the sight of blood flowing from the deep wound and watched in dismay as Alaric sank the dagger deeper into his arm till the knife was sticking right through it. She wondered how anyone can endure from such pain and yet be smiling as he was at her.

Alaric slowly pulled the dagger away from his arm, which caused more blood to spill, and tossed the bloody thing carelessly aside. His wound was so deep and huge, there was actually a large hole implanted on his arm that was overflowing with so much blood and reeking with the smell of flesh. The sight and smell were both so equally horrible, Flora had to turn her head away and cover her nose to escape the foul reek.

Alaric smirked at her disgust and grabbed hold of her chin, forcing her to look down at the nasty bruise. But she looked at the wound and was appalled by what she was seeing. As the blood dripped its' last drop, the broken skin reconnected with each other and quickly restored itself, as if it was being snitched back together, making quick haste fixing the wound and became fully healed. It wasn't only healed, but the way it looked now, it seemed as if the bruise was never even there in the first place.

"But...how-there was...so much blood?" She couldn't even finish the sentence, because she was too numb with shock. All she could do was look up at Alaric's eyes, which showed both knowing gentleness and cocky smugness.

"That is immortality at work, my dear. Regardless of anything an opponent could do to me, my body will heal. Even a pierce at the heart, which hasn't beaten in over thousands of years, the wound will heal in a matter of minutes," He explained. "I'm considered to be a demon, a very pretty one I might add, but I'm not one that needs to consume on another's flesh to live."

Alaric's face that was smug and his eyes gleaming in amusement then suddenly sobered up. He looked so firm and serious, with a frown replacing the smirk on his face, as he was lost away in memories. "But immortality can always carry a bit of a burden, despite the relishing features that come with the package. When those damn wizards imprison the book, there was nothing the Devil could do to retrieve the book while he was still trapped underground. I wasn't going to prove to be an utter fool and disappointment, so I stole the book away from the wizards' hiding place and became the guardian. I took the book away to the deepest pits of the underground kingdom Shadow Haunt where Lord Darkar wouldn't look or anyone else would think to look. But carrying it wasn't easy. The power didn't find me worthy enough to possess its' power, and burned my hands like hot fire. I can't even begin to tell you how unbearable and unimaginable the dreadful pain was."

"As I mentioned earlier there is a burden to being immortal, and the burden is going through the time and watching it change but society remaining the same. I had no other family expect for my two younger brothers, who became Devil followers, and my elder sister, who is his two hundred and ninety-three lover, his favorite one, and his personal prostitute. Any friend I ever had was destroyed by their ignorance, and I decided to live above ground. For thousands and thousands of years, I walked among Magic, going from realm to realm and spreading habitat wherever I could, but was doing all this alone and solo."

"That sounds...kind of lonely." Flora mused, speaking those words out loud when she meant to keep them in a thought inside her head. But for the first time since she met him, she actually felt some sympathy for Alaric. Even with him being cold and his wicked ways, she couldn't imagine anyone could go through such an empty, isolated life with no friends or family as your company, all alone to live through each day. It was so lonely.

"I admit it was, but it didn't last that way for long. One day while I was traveling one of the forests in the nature planet, Linphea, I saw an absolute goddess-like creature near the rose bushes and leaning down to have a whiff of the roses," The firm seriousness melted away as a smile lit up his face and his eyes gleaming as they caught in a love-sick trance. "The absolute most beautiful girl I have ever laid eyes on. Her voluptuous body looked to be carved by angels; eyes the most beautiful shade of jeweled emerald; long caramel hair that was being played with in the wind's gentle breeze; and her beauty something so breathtaking angels would be green with envy. My heart, which hasn't beat in centuries, pulsed with a loud throb practically bursting from my chest, all thoughts were cleared from my head except surrounding her, and it seemed the world couldn't balance me anymore. The key to keeping me steady on my feet rested in hands of that beautiful goddess. You could say I actually felt emotion, besides the cravings of darkness, and it was love at first sight. I knew right then and there, with my mouth dropped wide and finding it impossible to pull my eyes away from that beautiful goddess, I had immediately fallen in love with her."

"I wanted to know everything there was to know about her. What things she liked or didn't liked, what made her smile and laugh, everything I needed to know about her. I spent weeks following her around wherever she went, and hiding in the shadows so she couldn't see me, learning everything there was to know about her."

_Sure, that's not creepy at all_, Flora thought, but she already had a pretty good idea who the girl was. "It wasn't Rosalina, wasn't it?" she said.

"It was, and as each day passed by, I was falling more and more in love with her. When we finally met face to face, she acted polite as any fair maiden could but I could easily tell she was getting quickly annoyed by the way I kept sneaking up on her. But that didn't stop me, of course," Alaric's love-dazed eyes that flashed coldly with anger. "But that buffoon Julio already captured her heart, and before I even knew it, he announced to their entire school at their prom they were engaged to be married. _How in bloody hell could you possibly even consider being married to that piece of scum like him?_"

"_I loved him!_" Flora exclaimed. She was appalled by the fierceness in her tone, but she refused to sit by and listen to him insult Julio like that. Though she doesn't remember everything about her past, she does know she had very deep feelings for the brave pacifist. She didn't need flashbacks to know he was the most important person in her life as she was in his.

And she most certainty didn't need Alaric's approval of whom she was or wasn't in love with.

When she told him this, she watched Alaric's eyes grew colder and blazed madly with anger. He leaned closer to her till their faces was a few inches away from each other, and Flora saw there was little space for her to move away from him. He smiled a dry, mocking smile at her and said "He may have deep feelings for you, but those feelings can't even to comparison to the burning flame in my heart that yearns for you. The burning flame of passion that deeply burns in my heart and remained that way for eight centuries since your death."

The smile was starting to lose some of its bitterness, showing something she had never seen on Alaric's face before: utter sadness. His face remained firm by showing no emotion, but in his eyes showed the exact heavy, heart-breaking grief of someone who lost the love of their life with nothing left in their eyes except haunting, hollowness of sorrow. It was strange though, because she wasn't even sure why herself, Flora could have swore she had seen the exact same look in another's eyes she could tell was from the past.

"That damn bastard may have loved you, but that doesn't find him any less guilty of his hands being stained with your shed blood," He said, his sad and hollow eyes hardening quickly with unspeakable deadly rage. "It was him who killed you, Libitina. He and the others fought their last battle with you inside the castle while I was trying to fight off the cursed army of rebels they gathered and were trying to break into the castle. There were thousands of rebel soldiers, who were much stronger than I realized, and it took a good amount of time to defeat all of them. That fight between you and your former friends took up all of your power and strength you had within yourself to defeat them. Each one played a part of inflicting harsh bruises onto your body and weakening your immune system, but it was really Julio who ended you. The others were long dead before it was down to the two of you, and you used their life forces to strengthen the raven's power. Both of you exchanged final words to each other, not having anything else to say to each other, and then fought without holding back. Finally it ended as you struck each other at the stab of the heart. You stabbed him right through the chest with a single, powerful death blast and him with a dagger he dipped in the deadliest poison that went right through your heart."

"You're lying!" Flora exclaimed, getting up from her stump and getting as far away from Alaric as she could. She covered her ears with her hands to escape the filthy lies sprouting from his mouth, refusing to hear or let him speak anymore horrible things. Not only were they ridiculous nonsense, it also caused great tension and unbearable throbbing in her head that felt like a powerful fist was pounding against every corner inside her head. The pounding pain was so painful unbearable, Flora needed to lean against a tree to keep her balance and not collapse on the ground. "You're a liar! A demon lying through his teeth!"

"Whether you chose to believe me or not, the fact remains the same you slaughtered all your pathetic friends and lover. You killed him the very moment he killed you." Alaric said.

"ENOUGH!" Flora screamed, not wanting to hear anymore. "Stop with your lies, Alaric! Just stop it! They were my best friends, I could never hurt them. And I loved Julio with all my being."

"Feelings come and go. About as much a person could change and as many times as a girl changes clothes," Alaric said. "The moment you got the dark power, you officially became my goddess, whom I admired as loved. Your heart became dark and cold and you showed little mercy to anyone. You warned your friends if they got in your way then you would destroy them, and since you defined you, they had to pay serious consequences. With their deaths."

He watched with dark amusement in his eyes as Flora slowly sank to the ground and was lying on her right side with her hands pressed against her head to try to ease the unbearable throbbing, breathing in more and shallower, deep breaths while closing her eyes shut. He had to admit she was a lot stronger than he assumed. It was amusing to see her squirming as she was struggling through her pain, gave him entertainment to see her trying to fight off the memories.

"Struggle all you want, but struggling only makes it worse. I really do hate to see you suffer in such horrible pain." Alaric told her.

The respond to that question was a cross between an aching hiss and pained groan to the painful pounding in her head that was increasing rapidly. The pain was becoming too painful and unbearable; Flora felt her skull was practically and slowly cracking from the horrible abuse.

But seeing like this didn't make Alaric stop speaking, who thought speaking more about the fateful day and making go through uneasy memories would be the only way to make her remember. He talked more about Libitna's final battle with her former friends known as the company of light, and the more he talked, the more Flora's head was spinning with visions and images that raced through her head. Visions of her dressed in that black cat suit and breast metallic armor, and her friends' past descendants fighting it out in what looked to be a huge throne room where there was more than enough room to fight and blood was being shed to the floor.

It was a fight of an evil witch against twelve good guys, who didn't want to fight her because she was still their friend whether she was a traitor or not but knew fighting was the only way to put an end to the horrible darkness, not holding absolutely nothing back as they dueled it out. The fight seemed almost unfair because it was one against a whole group, but the way she was fighting you'd think it was an even match.

But like any great battle, it was exhilarating and bloody. So much blood was being spilled onto the ground, that it was practically covered in a sea of crimson. Despite the fact they were her best friends and she used to have a golden heart, Libitina fought without mercy. She used her staff as a sword and a shield to block the boys' sword attacks and adsorb the girls' spell before throwing it right back at them, and summoned all the raven's power in one last attack that knocked them all dead.

"You're having flashbacks, aren't you?" Alaric taunted. "You see a certain person finishing them off those pathetic buffoons, don't you, and she looks a lot like you?"

Libitna's brilliant ruby eyes gleam in dark amusement at each bruise she scratched onto their bodies, her smile growing colder and more twisted at the sounds of their pained groans and suffering. Hearing this gave her amusement and entertainment, and she found the whole thing to be wonderfully delicious than any sweetness in the world.

"Please stop! Please!" Flora pleaded softly, squeezing her aching head to ease the pain as tears leaked through her eyes.

Alaric didn't stop and neither did the visions she was seeing in her head. The more he talked, the more visions she would see. Of her as the dark angel, Libitina, who smiled one last smirk at the descendants as she finished them off one by one. Opening her mouth, she drawn in a small, glowing white ball-like form from their bodies, which was their souls, and the each soul that went inside her mouth made the white light glow around her body and mingle with the raven's dark energy as they become one.

The most sickening thing about Libitina was the fact she didn't show any emotion as she fought her former friends. No sadness, sympathy, or remorse. Just a dark smirk slowly erasing from her face and becoming expressionless and her eyes blank as she gave them one last look before she struck them. They were her best friends and yet she didn't show any emotion as she killed them all.

Blood flowing everywhere, negative energy lingering in the air, the look of the descendants' faces turn from fierce to blank as they took their final breath and died silently. The look of Julio's poor face, grim with nasty bruises and his eyes empty with any emotion, frozen as a bolt of black energy went right through his chest.

Alaric was looking the other direction as he was telling her all this, but he turned back to her to see her reaction on this. What he saw wasn't just her crying, what he saw was her sobbing so hard that her whole body was shaking and her hands pressed against her head and her eyes closed shut. She looked so miserable, and it badly hurt him to see her like this.

_Perhaps I took my games a bit too far this time_, Alaric thought as he walked over to her and scooped her up in his arms with ease. Flora was too hollow by the sadness, dying grief, and shock from the visions and seeing those deaths to protest him carrying her, and just allowed it. He carried her over to the tree stomps, took his seat on one, and just held her as she cried. He laid her head gently on his left shoulder, used one hand to stroke her hair and the other to wrap firmly around her waist, and gently cradled her in his arms. The way he was treating her was such care was almost the same as a mother soothing an infant.

Time seemed to go by real faster than she thought. By the time Flora lifted her head away from his shoulder, she took a look at the sky and was surprised to see the sun was close to setting. How much time has she spent crying into Alaric's shoulder and him caring for her like a baby? Seemed almost like a few seconds or minutes, but she knew time went by a whole lot faster than she expected. But when her sobbing finally quieted down several minutes ago, tears continued to roll down her cheek like a waterfall.

Alaric didn't say a word as he scooped her up in his arms and a sound didn't come from his lips the entire time they spent sitting on the tree stomp. He let her cry into his shoulder, not seeming to care his expensive white suit was being ruined by her tears, and stared straight ahead at the oak trees, his expression unreadable and eyes blank with emotion. She could tell she was still on his mind though by the continuous ways he was stroking her hair.

Flora wasn't going to say when she says being in Alaric's arms was very different than she expected it to be like. It wasn't the same as Helia's embrace, but was very similar by the sense of comfort and protectiveness the embrace was giving her, and the gentleness of this gesture.

"Better?" He asked with a small warm smile on his face.

Flora took a deep breathe as she wiped away her tears and nodded once, appraising herself for keeping her facial expression calm and showing no emotion.

Another stroke of her hair, he said "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. But this is the only way I can think of making you remember who you are."

When she didn't reply, Alaric waited for a few moments before continuing, "Think back to the day you met me at the train station. I could see in your eyes shock and vague remembrance. You remember seeing me somewhere before, but your mind couldn't place the specifics."

He asked her is she wanted to learn about what happened after both she and Julio slewed each other. She didn't make a reply or looked him in the eye, but he saw specks of curiosity in her eyes. He smiled warmly and then began to speak. "Julio died right away the second the energy blast struck him, but he mustered all the strength he had within him to say these words to you before you were truly gone: 'I always have and always will love you.'"

_Did I suck his soul into my power like I did with the others,_ Flora thought. She loved him more than anything else, but then again she changed. If she was really that heartless enough to kill him and her friends, then use the friends' souls for the raven's power, Julio was likely to be no expectation to that rule.

"I'm not entirely sure whether or not you sucked his soul in as well. That remained a mystery to me to this very day. The poison didn't immediately kill you right away, so you still had a few moments left, but because but was spreading quickly throughout your body, time was very limited. You didn't want things to end this way. To have all you ever wanted and worked for be taken away by those worthless pests. Unfortunately there was no healing spell for the poison that was quickly consuming your flesh and killing you, but you looked though the raven's spell book and found a spell of reincarnation."

"That's impossible!" Flora mumbled, shocked. Those were the first words she said since she cried, but they were laced with shock. That spell was forbidden; something no fairy, witch, or wizard can ever will reincarnation on their own.

That comment brought out both a warm and dark smile to Alaric's face. "Impossible yes, but is a very rare spell that was contained in the book. You put too much work for everything to rip away with your death, so simply dying wasn't an opinion for you. You wanted to live again, to spread evil and destruction once more, and get revenge from those descendants' descendants. The spell was quite powerful, and it took every drop of your magic and your own soul in order for it to work. You then used Julio's dagger to slice your hand, spilling drops of your blood onto the spell's page, and saying it only once before you died."

"I used the spell of reincarnation?" Flora asked in a quiet mumble.

"Yes. When I finally cam to the throne room, I saw it was already too late. The descendants were long dead, as well as you. More than anything I wanted to torment them for the rest of eternal for what they have done. You were sprawled on top of Julio's hand, your hand holding his, but the minute I ran to you, your body crushed into ashes and the ashes disappeared into nothingness. From that day on, I swore to myself I would find you again. Find you; help you remember about the glorious legacy you left behind, and the magnificent destiny that awaits you."

"What are you talking about?" Flora eased herself to a bit from his hold to look up at his black eyes, which were bright and dark with laughter like someone told him a private joke.

Alaric was about to reply, but he whipped his head the other direction and was still for a moment, narrowing his eyes as if he just heard someone who was about to interrupt their moment. Turning back to Flora, his smile was still in place as he said "Your friends are calling out for you."

"How do you-" Before she could finish the question, she could already hear her name being called over and over again, growing louder as they were coming closer to them.

He got up from his stump and placed her back on her feet, slowly caressing her cheek and brushing her hair away from her hair. "Libitina, as always it brings me such joy and pleasure to be graced with your radiant presence. I hope we'll see each other again in time."

Flora grabbed hold oh his arm with both her hands, a gesture which shocked both him and her. To Alaric, who was remaining calm, he thought this gesture could be a possible sign she was returning her feelings for him. But the real reason why Flora was stopping him from leaving was because she needed to know more about the destiny he mentioned and was about to explain more about it to her.

Alaric placed his left hand on hers and used his right to tilt her head up, so she was looking right into his eyes. "I want to spend as much with you as possible, but I don't wish to spend the moment with you while your friends are going to ruin things."

Flora realized how much they almost looked like a couple and quickly pulled her hand away from his to break the awkwardness. Her face blushed the brightest shade of red, which brought an amusement to Alaric's eyes, as she gave herself some time to pull herself together and cleared her throat. "I don't trust you, Alaric." She told him in her best firm voice.

He smirked, his eyes howling with laughter. "Let me take a wild guess. It's all because of the things Nathalie keeps saying about me."

"I know what your heart is like, Alaric. The love petal showed me what it's like, and I know you're obsessed with me and willing to do anything to make me yours. Am or am I not correct?" she said.

He only smiled at her as he took small steps toward her, and Flora found herself walking backwards until her back was up against the oak tree. She swallowed nervously as Alaric placed both hands against her sides, with no way for her to escape, and leaned in close to her. He was so close; their lips were only a mere inch away from hers. "I will not deny the fact I've been in love since the day I first met and fell even more in love when I met you again at the train station. I will not deny the fact that I will do anything possible for you to be mine, even if that requires _certain_ people being out of the way."

Flora's eyes flashed with anger. "You will harm a single hair on Helia's head or come anywhere near my friends!" She threatened.

Leaning in a bit closer to her, he said with a cross between a gentle smile and smug smirk, "If certain people decide to stay in my way, I'll have no other choice but to eliminate them myself. And even though I love you, my dear, and can easily do anything to you right now, I will not. I could easily put you under a love spell, several powerful ones that will make you blindly in love with me. But I won't."

Flora was appalled by this. Normally anyone who be tempted to put someone they adored but the person doesn't have any feelings for under their spell, so she was surprised(and also grateful) that Alaric wasn't going to do the same to her.

When she asked him this, Alaric smiled at her knowingly as if she was a naive little girl. "Take a look at your red-headed friend and that boyfriend prince of hers. When his ex-fiancée had him under a spell, he followed her every wish and command. But when you think closer about it, you realize he was nothing more than her mindless puppet. He only did those things because she was the one pulling the strings. I do not wish the same thing for you. I could easily put under a love spell right now without you even knowing, and have you wake up the next morning being blindly in love with me. But that, my dear, is fake love. You would only adore me because of some enchantment I cast upon you. That's not what I wish. I want you to make you mine and for you to feel the same way about me when you finally realize that on your own free will. When you realize this, I'll be here waiting for you."

"That...is...not what I'm referring to." Flora said, slowly recovering from her blush. "What I'm talking about is the destiny you were talking about. What destiny?"

Alaric didn't answer her, but pulled her into his arms and held onto her tightly, laying her head on his chest and resting his chin on her left shoulder. It was the same thing she experienced when he was holding her earlier: gentle protection. "I've already said far too much already and it's time for me to go. I'm sure Nathalie and Ms. Faragonda will tell the rest of everything you need to know after you return back to your school."

He pulled back just a bit, but still had one arm wrapped firmly around her waist, pulling her even closer to him, and titled her chin up so she would look straight into his eyes. "It breaks my heart every time I have to leave a beautiful goddess behind, but I must bear the horrible ache again. Until we met again, my dear. Parting is such sweet sorrow."

For the first time, Flora looked up into his eyes and saw something. She looked far past beyond the wickedness and cruelty, going even further to find softer emotions hidden well behind the evilness his eyes hold. In his eyes, she saw so much admiration and affectionate, deep passion and love, and there were the same things she had seen in Helia's eyes countless times whenever he looked at her. The only differences between the two's loving gaze was Alaric's was hardened with sorrow from losing her the first time and also scary with the fierce obsession she could read into. Before this day, she was more than convinced she wanted absolutely nothing to do with him, but after today...after hearing some more detail about what took place in the past and learning more about his background, she was starting to see him in a whole new light. That didn't mean she now had feelings for him, much less fallen for him, but there was a new sense of gentleness and brief understanding that was starting to unfold between them.

"Alaric..." She found herself moving closer to him. Alaric leaned closer to her, smiling his charming smile and his black eyes smiling as well. Black eyes shining like onyx and black as the dark midnight sky, normally cruel and heartless at first but can also be so beautiful and...gentle. So captivating they almost made her forget about everything. Almost made her forget about Helia.

Helia.

Flora turned her head away when their lips were only a kiss away from being pressed to each other and buried it on Alaric's shoulder, which was the only place she could hide her ashamed face. She couldn't believe she was so close to doing that, that she fallen under his eyes' spell and nearly let him kiss her. How she could that?

"Alaric...?" She said once she gained some control over herself and looked back up at him. But the moment she did, she started to feel tired. It was as if all the strength and energy inside of her was being drained. She felt so weak and drowsy; she could barely keep her heavy eyes open anymore.

Alaric caressed her left cheek and brushed her hair away from her eyes, moving in closer than she would have liked but was too tired to even say anything about it. "Darka eviulalsa colgtra."

And with that being said, Flora's mind was swept into obviation and she saw nothing but blackness surrounding her.

Time definitely flew by. Afternoon instantly became late nighttime when she opened her eyes again. The sun was now gone in the night sky, casting different shades of dark blue so dark it was almost black.

Her head was practically spinning and she had to blink her eyes several times before they finally came into focus. She groaned as she placed her hand against her aching head, which was the only thing aching her while the rest of her body felt strangely calm and relaxed. She made a note to herself to tell Stella and the girls the grass was just as warm and comfy as a bed, but she wished she wore something a bit warmer as she felt the wind blow a chilled breeze.

Memories of her running into the forest after she learned the horrible truth about herself. Alaric appearing out of the blue, acting both cocky and gentle with her as she talked a bit more about his background, talked about meeting Rosalina and falling in love with her the moment he laid eyes on her, and giving great detail about the final battle that took Libitna's and her former friends' lives.

Horrible images of that gruesome battle kept churning around and around inside her head. Blood being shed onto the floor, faces fierce with determination and anger turn blankly peaceful as they inhaled their final breathes, and her beloved his final words to her before he was gone.

All Flora could do now was hug herself tightly and take in deep breaths to resist the great, sickening urge to faint and vomit like she felt doing earlier as quick flashbacks of those horrible visions were flashing through her mind.

She reminded herself to remain calm and relaxed, because there were other things she needed to worry about. Like what exactly happened while she was knocked out and fell into Alaric's arms. This worried her because she was as passed out as a drunken girl taking shot after shot of liquid at a party and falling into the lap of a total stranger, completely zoned out. She may shared some good moments with Alaric, but didn't mean she trusted him completely. Plus, things can happen when a barely conscious girl is left alone with a complete stranger.

Wanting some assurance, Flora closed her eyes and opened both her mind and heart, listening closely to the voice of nature.

"You are right to be concerned, child," said the gentle, grandmotherly voice of soothing nature. "Thankfully, though, you have nothing to be worried about. The boy did indeed kiss you, but only on your forehead. After that, he gently laid you flat on the grass and quickly vanished."

"Thank you, voice of nature," Flora smiled as she looked around her beloved, natural environment. _And thank you, too, Alaric_, she said silently in her heart.

Luckily for her, the magical barrier wasn't put up yet, so Flora was able to walk into the school without having any trouble. But the minute she stepped through, a huge greenish-yellow energy surrounded the entire school campus and rose from the ground, coming together to form a protective barrier. Not only that, but a spotlight was immediately shined on her and she was surrounded by a few figures coming out from the shadows where they were waiting for her.

Flora looked into the stern, hard look on her friends and Ms. Faragonda's faces, and everyone one of them had their hands either folded against their chest or placed on their hips. Taking one look at their faces, she knew she was in for it.

There were hugs and all, but that didn't stop the others from saying how much they were worried about her, wanting to know why she took off like that in the first place, and demanding to know where it is she went.

"The reason why I ran off was because I was shocked." Flora said, once they were back inside Ms. Faragonda's office. She looked into her friends' serious faces, hoping they would be able to understand. "I kept seeing myself as the dark angel and causing so much devastation. I couldn't take it, so I ran into the forest at a secret place you wouldn't be able to find me."

Flora then buried her face in her hands and started to cry again, for flashbacks of the dark witch slaying each one of her friends and being killed by Julio as she killed him. Her friends put down their serious guards and tried to comfort their friend.

Bloom wrapped her arms around Flora and said "Its okay, Flora. It's okay."

She slowly shook her head as she pulled away from Bloom and used the tissue Ms. Faragonda gave her to wipe her tears. "No Bloom, it's not okay. It's never going to be okay. Today I learned I'm the reincarnation of the cruelest, darkest, cold-hearted witch to ever live. So heartless, she killed each one of her friends without hesitation."

They turned to Ms. Faragonda and Nathalie in hopes one of them could say it wasn't true. But looking at their sullen faces, they knew it unfortunately was.

Flora told them everything that happened when she fled to the forest to cry and Alaric appeared right out of the blue behind her. Just as she predicted, they were all beyond shocked that she spent time with that creep after all he put her through, staring at her with wide, disbelief eyes and their mouths dropped wide.

"Are you nuts!" Stella asked. "You actually spent time with _Alaric_?"

"He could have spelled you or done something much worse while you were passed out." Bloom said, forgetting what Flora said about the voice of nature telling her he didn't harm her.

"He's a whacked-out stalker who's obsessed with you, Flo," Musa stated. "You can't trust him."

"After all that's happened, I'm surprised you even let him come five feet near you." Tecna said.

A loud clap from the headmistress was enough to quieted them down. They all turned to Ms. Faragonda, who was watching them argue with solemn, narrowed eyes. She turned to Flora, sighed once as she looked down at her hands, and lifted her head back up to look at Flora again and said "Flora, once again I'm sorry for not telling the truth earlier. But I always felt the truth should be told when the person is ready to hear it. Now you know the truth about yourself being the reincarnation of the angel of darkness and well-known as the goddess of death, Libitina."

Flora took a quick glance at Nathalie, who kept quiet the entire time since she got back. Now she understood why Nathalie was so harsh and resentful around her. It was because Rosalina committed such an unthinkable act of treachery, was the cause of ultimate darkness and chaos, and took so many, countless and innocent lives. Including her friends, one who was also Nathalie's elder sister, who was very much loved and adored by her younger sibling.

She got up from her chair, walked over to Nathalie, and folded her hands together. Nathalie raised one eyebrow suspiciously at her, and Flora took that as a cue to start speaking. "I now understand why you seem to detest me so much. Rosalina-_Libitina_-was the one who killed you sister, Chelsea, and my friends' descendants. She killed so many people and used their souls to strengthen her power, then caused so much mayhem. I know this probably won't mean much coming from me, but I want to say I'm so sorry. I really am so, very sorry."

Ms. Nathalie looked at her a bit bewildered, surprised by the apologize she was making. She placed her hand on Flora's shoulder, smiling weary just a tad bit. "You remind me far too much of Rosalina when she used to be so warm and kind. I'm sorry of my ice-queen behavior around you, but please understand that I loved my sister very much, and her friends were like family to me," Her smile then vanished from her face, which looked now hollow with sadness. "Their souls, I wish, could finally be release from their dark imprisonment and rest in peace."

"What do you mean?" Flora asked.

"You remember how, according to the book, the Midnight feeds not only on suffering sorrow, pain, and misery, but also a soul which can make its' power and strength thousands times stronger," Flora nodded, and Nathalie continued with her explanation. "Every captive captured and rebel who went against her power had their souls sucked dry from their bodies, into the raven's power. Even with Libitna's death, the dark power didn't die and the souls have remained trapped inside there for the past eight hundred years."

"Like an absorption spell effect?" Bloom asked.

"Yes," she nodded. "Every soul sucked into the raven's power is an eternal prisoner being tormented for the rest of eternity."

_So in other words, they're like prisoners to the Devil to be tormented in a hellish place for the rest of eternity_, Flora thought about every brave person who went against Libitina and lose their life. _That's horrible._

"So, what's this destiny you were telling us about and Alaric mentioned to Flora?" Sky asked.

Nathalie exchanged private looks with Ms. Faragonda, and after silent communication going through with their eyes, it was anonymous decided who was going to be the one to tell them. Ms. Faragonda closed her eyes and took in a quiet breath, opening her eyes and saying, "When you were born, Flora, a prophecy was made to be fulfilled. And that date of the prophecy is the stoke of midnight of your eighteenth birthday. The significance of your eighteenth birthday has to due with that fact the date is exact same as Rosalina's and was the date and age when she got the dark power and became the dark angel. As you know, when before she died, Libitina cast the spell of reincarnation on herself, so she would be reborn again to regain her place as the dark angel and queen of all evil. On her deathbed, she swore on the date of the propchey, the reincarnate will perform a powerful quite similar to rebirth, except it will allow Libitina to have complete control of the reincarnate's mind and body, and darkness to fall upon the each realm. Happiness, joy, and light will cease to exist, and the dark angel will rise once again. Alaric swore he will find her reincarnation, which he successfully and unfortunately succeeded in doing, and will do whatever it takes to for the prophecy to be fulfilled."

"THERE'S NO WAY IN HELL FLORA WOULD DO ANYTHING LIKE THAT!" Layla exclaimed, and the other girls loudly put in their own opinions on the whole thing, along with the guys. But Flora was still and quiet, not really thinking as she looking down at the ground, because her mind was completely blank from the amount of numbness she experienced.

_So, that's that why all this is happening. My birthday has to do with an evil prophecy that must be fulfilled_, she thought. _A part of Libitina is trapped deep inside me, so if the prophecy is fulfilled and the spell is performed, then she'll have completely of my body and mind while I'll be the one trapped inside_, she realized with her bland eyes growing wide with shock.

"I'll tell you something. If that stalker creep thinks Flo is going to do the spell, then he has another thing coming." Musa said.

"The unfortunate thing is Alaric will stop at absolutely nothing to make the prophecy become a reality. He will do whatever it takes to help the angel of darkness regain her throne as the queen of all evil, and for the magical and non-magical universe to become a suffering wasteland of eternal darkness." Nathalie said, shuddering at the memory of how the magical universe was eight centuries ago when Libitina was ruling and could only picture it was be hundreds time worse if she rules again. "Before my sister and her friends went off to their final battle with the dark angel, the great Dragon came to Luna and showed her a vision of what will happen in that battle. Including the spell, Libitina cast on herself. They knew they wouldn't be able to stop the spell from happening, but knew something could be done to prevent the future from becoming hell. They combined every ounce of power they had inside their bodies to create this."

Nathalie reached inside her blouse to retrieve a beautiful amber pendant shaped like a lone teardrop, glowing radiantly in the light. The girls thought it was so beautiful, but when they looked closer, they saw the necklace was glowing with powerful energy of convergence energy inside, which was making it glow. She explained "Inside the pendant is an anti-aging convergence spell, which always the person who wears it to age much more, incredibly slowly than at normal pace. I volunteered to be the one to try to stop the future, and I plan to do so. I spent the last few years roaming around the realms, teaching here and there, and learning some new spells. But recently I felt such a strong wave of energy, which was so dark and cold. Which was why I came to here, because the feeling was getting stronger when I came to Magix and decided to come to Alfea. The moment I meet Flora, the wave hit me even stronger and powerful than a thousand bricks, and I knew who she was then. I hated that bastard Alaric and witch for taking my sister away from me, and promised myself I would never make the prophecy come true."

"We'll make sure she's never alone and doesn't go anywhere by herself." Musa said.

"We'll put protection spells on our rooms and keep a watchful eye on her 24/7." Tecna added.

"How are you taking all this, Flora?" Ms. Faragonda asked, noticing how the young fairy was unusually quiet. Everyone turned to Flora, who was still keeping her eyes on the ground and had hollowness in her usually brighten eyes and face.

"I'm…numb. I just feel numb." Flora answered. Helia went over to her and pulled her into his arms, holding onto her tightly.

"I urge you, child," Nathalie said to her. "to take this warning as a great caution. Stay far, far away from Alaric. He is demon filled with nothing but dark wickedness inside him, and him gaining your trust is a great way for him to have you do the spell. He cannot be trusted."

"Swear to us, Flora, you'll stay far away from him if he comes close to you." Bloom said.

"You have my word." She swore.

It was soon time for the guys to go. The boys kissed their girls goodbye, except for Helia, who mostly kept quiet and only waved to Flora as they got back on their bikes and rode away. It broke Flora's heart he didn't hug or kiss her goodbye, and tears were close to falling from her eyes. The girls all walked back to their dorm room in silence, each one lost in her thoughts, but still kept positive faces for Flora, which at least made her feel a tad bit better.

"I appreciate what you guys are doing for me, but…" Flora sighed.

"But nothing," Bloom said, trying to look on the positive sides. "Flora, anything we have gotten through has only make out friendship stronger."

"Best gal friends!" Stella beamed.

"Bffs!" Layla smiled.

"Best friends forever!" Tecna said with a wink.

"Put in it, girls," Musa stick out her hand, and the girls all instantaneously put their hands together and cheered loud as they jumped back and pulled them apart. "Winx club forever!" Then the friends pulled each other into their big group hug.

No matter what, she could always count on her friends to make her feel better. But that didn't put a damper on Flora's thoughts she tried to sleep that night. Her head was filled with so many while everyone else was sound asleep; she was still up at one in the morning, thinking about everything that has happened today. Finding out she was the reincarnation of a dark witch and she was part of a prophecy set to happen at the stroke of midnight on her eighteenth birthday; the start connection folding between her and Alaric, a man she was sure she wanted absolutely nothing to do with, but could see he was starting to…understand her, and Helia's chilled behavior when he and guys had to leave.

He didn't kiss or hug her, or even looked at her as he waved briefly and walked over to his bike. This was surprising since he was never acted that way before, and she couldn't figure out the reason to that behavior. Was he mad at her? Jealous? Jealous because she mentioned to all of them the strange understanding happening between her and Alaric, and the fact he was so close to kissing her?

She heard some tapping sounds outside her window, which sounded almost like peddles were being throw at her window. She crawled out of bed and went over to her window to see what was going on. Below her, right near her balcony was Helia sitting on his levabike, waving and smiling a bit at her surprised face.

"Hey," He said, loud enough for her to hear him, but low enough not to wake anyone who was sleeping. "Can I come in?"

Nodding yes, Helia drove his bike a bit higher to her and parked with just enough for him to jump right into the balcony. Flora led him inside, and they both sat on the bed, looking at everywhere else except each other. When they finally met each other eyes, they smiled briefly to each other.

"This almost reminds me of the play Bloom was telling about that's really popular on Earth. Romeo and Juliet, where Romeo comes to Juliet's balcony to see her." She said.

Helia smiled at her, but then quickly remembered why he came here in the first place and became serious. Sighing and looking down at the ground, he said "Flora, I want to apologize about what happened earlier. I was so shocked about everything that's happened, and also I got really jealous."

"Of Alaric?" She asked. "Why?"

"It's obvious the guy cares about you a lot, has everything that would make him any girl's dream guy, and you talking about how time you two spent together, I remember how Nathalie said he was one of the reasons why Rosalinda turned away from Julio and her friends. I couldn't bear the thought of losing you to him."

"You are never going to lose me." She assured him.

Helia smiled sadly and said "He has everything that would make a girl fall for him, has looks and charm-"

"But he isn't you," She interrupted, cupping his face in her hands and caressing his cheeks. "He isn't you at all, Helia. He can't even come close to you. You're the one I truly care about. You're the only who has ever captured my heart, and the only one who my heart will belong to."

He slowly kissed her everywhere on her face. Her nose, her cheeks, her forehead, anywhere he could press his lips against. Lastly he kissed her soft, gentle lips for the longest kiss, placing a kiss she responded to and unrushed. As he slowly pulled back, he said those three magical words she never thought she would be told by anyone. "I love you."

"I love you, too." She smiled.

She moved in closer to him again, and their lips met in a passionate, sweet and soft kiss. When Helia brought one arm around her waist, immediately everything was intensified and hot. Slowly, he pushed her back on the bed, laying her flat, and straddled her hips, doing all this without removing their lips from each other. He did left her lips for a brief moment to kiss her repeatedly from her jaw line to every inch of her neck, causing Flora to moan softly and the moans became a bit louder as he moved onto the other side while she was weaving her fingers through his hair. She lifted her head up, and pressed her lips against his in another passionate, mind-blowing and heart-stopping kiss.

"Helia." She softly moaned, as he slowly pulled his lips away and returned to kissing her neck. His lips were practically burning everywhere they touched, and her head was swimming in a blissful daze everything was so beautiful. She could feel the sleeve of her short nightgown was slowly slipping off her shoulder, and felt Helia's lips kissing her shoulder blade as he nuzzled into it, his left hand gently caressing her left thigh while his free hand was gently rubbing her hand. She felt so free and light, she never wanted it to end, but knew it had to before things start to get a bit too hot.

She slowly pushed him away from her and straightened her nightgown. Helia watched her, wondering if she was feeling embarrassed what happened, or rather what was about to happen. But his worries melted away when he saw she was smiling at him.

He kissed her softly once more, and said, brushing his lips against hers, "I'll never let him come near him ever again. I'll always protect you."

"Thank you, Helia." She smiled as she gave him a hug.


	8. Chapter 8

_Today was truly an exhausting day_, Nathalie thought as she got ready for bed that night in her dorm suite.

Today, Flora and her friends found out the truth about the sweet nature fairy being the reincarnation of the angel of darkness, and the prophecy that came along with her birth and the destiny set to take place on her eighteenth birthday. Flora was proven to be more and more like Rosalina everyday when Nathalie remembered her as the sweet, gentle person she used to be before her heart became dark, but the question roaming around Nathalie's head was will the dark side of Libitina begin to show as the girl's birthday is getting more and more closer? When it all comes down to it, will Flora actually fulfill the prophecy and allow the dark witch to rule once again? Nathalie knew it might be possible if that damn Alaric keeps showing up and getting closer to the girl. She knows Flora isn't that weak and naïve to start falling for his charm games, but the girl did show a change of heart for the demon-like man when she told them in Faragonda's office the time the two spent together in the forest. Flora knew far better than to start trusting Alaric, but all that could possible change with their newfound understanding unfolding between them.

He knows this, and will try to get closer and closer till she is able to do whatever he needs from her. This also includes releasing Libitna buried deep inside her and letting the witch take full control and destroying the entire universe.

"There's no way, in the name of all things good and pure in this world, will I allow that to happen." Nathalie murmured to herself. _Alaric, you fucking the son of the bitch devil, took my sister and her friends away from me. You are the reason their poor souls will never rest in peace_, she thought as she looked at herself in the bathroom mirror.

She was no longer afraid of him like she was a long time ago. She was no longer the sad, scared little girl who ran away from danger while her sister and friends were brave enough to stay behind and fight. She had time to grown up and improve her skills with her magic, becoming one with the source of her powers and growing stronger over the past years. She was more than ever ready to face him again. She couldn't save Chelsea and the gang from their horrible fate, but will do everything in her power to stop history from repeating itself. She will finally put an end to that miserable excuse of a magical being one and for all, and will find some way to free those poor souls from their prison inside the raven's power.

Nathalie left the bathroom, dressed in her nightgown and bed robe, feeling refreshed after her nice, hot shower. But her mood immediately soured when she was she had an uninvited guest sitting on her nice couch, smirking at her scowling face. "What the hell are you doing here?"

There was a sinister gleam in Alaric's eyes as he smiled that cruel smirk at her. He snapped his fingers, and a tray of bottled scotch and a glass tumble appeared on the coffee table. He poured himself a glass and rested his feet on her table as he drank down the whole cup in a gulp, knowing how much this way annoying Nathalie and loved pushing her buttons. "Evening there, Nathalie," Taking another shot of the scotch, he said "My, this school has good taste in liquor. I wondered though if any of the students sneak down to the kitchen for a quick sip."

"What the hell are you doing here?" She repeated more loudly. "How did you even get here? The place is covered with a protective barrier."

"You know, you and the teachers should really think about putting up that barrier on time. You just never know who can easily sneak in when the barrier isn't up."

Fed up with him and the disgusting sight of him, Nathalie snapped her fingers and the tray with his liquor and cup vanished from sight, ignoring the annoyed glare Alaric gave her, and shooed his feet off her table. She was so fed up with him, and he was sitting on her favorite couch, a gift from one of many great-great-great-great-great-great-great- grandchildren, which she would now have to burn as soon as she gets him out of here. "Aren't you a bit old to be sneaking into a girl's room in hopes to see her coming out from the shower? Is that why you are here, Alaric? Were you hoping to see me butt-naked?" She asked with a straight face, but inside she was laughing her head off when she saw the smug smirk on his face turn into a cringe frown, watching him shudder.

Trying to move pass that crude comment and erasing the disturbing image the silly woman planted into his head, Alaric rose from the couch, with his hands stuffed inside the pockets of his blazer, and said "A, if I wanted to spy on a girl, you and I both know whom I would be after than," Seeing Nathalie's face darken with a scowl, he smirked and continued "B, I only came to know for myself if you and the headmistress already inform the girl about the destiny set to happen on her eighteenth birthday."

"You stay as far away from that girl as possible." Nathalie warned with a sunburst blasting from the palm of her left hand, aiming straight at Alaric. But the man was too quick and easily dodged it, so the burst ended up hitting her bookshelf stored with irreplaceable books. She used a water spell to wash out the fire, but saw it was half of the books were already charred.

"Clumsy, clumsy," She growled at his damn smirking face as she turned around to face him. "Silly girl, I can see things still haven't changed that much. You always were awkward with your magic, having no idea how to properly use them."

"GO TO HELL!" She yelled.

"I'm already there," He answered. "Besides I'm not in the mood to fight right now, so I suggest you act like a good little brat and listen closely."

Alaric thrust out an arm toward Nathalie. She was beyond his reach, but a strong force hit her like an invisible brick wall crashing against her back and chest. It curled around her, wrapping her in a very fierce and tight embrace that pinned her arms to her sides. She couldn't move; she could barely breathe.

She felt herself being lifted from the ground.

"Damn," she managed to gasp. "You bastard!"

Alaric snorted as he shook his head. "Again, really with the bastard? These names I did find amusing at first, but quickly got on my nerves later over the years since I kept hearing them over and over again like an annoying pop song you can never get out from your head."

"I'll scream!" She threatened.

"Yeah, no you won't. Because not only will my grip tighten around you, but I already spelled this room to be soundproof, so screaming is really not going to help you out," He said, but then all dark hilarious was instantly wiped off his face, only making him look extremely sober. "Just call me the messenger from now on, because I have a message for you and I expect you to pass it on. You and those pathetic fairies and hero wanna-bees actually believe you can stop the glorious prophecy from being fulfilled. That I just find to be so funny, because you actually believe you can stop it from happening."

Nathalie was struggling to free herself from Alaric's grip. "Flora may be Libitina's reincarnation, but that doesn't mean she is anything like that bitch or would do anything to help evil take over."

"_Yet_," He smiled coldly, with a dark twinkle in his eyes. "Sooner or later, Flora is going to realize she can't hide from who she is and what she is meant to do. She was born to spread mayhem and evil, to allow the part that is Libitina to be released and freed from the place where she is trapped deep inside the girl, and fulfill the dark prophecy. Those fairies may have beaten evil before, but that was only because those villains were idiots who underestimated them, which is something a true villain knows never to do. And in case, they or you haven't figured it out already, I'm going to be very hard to beat. So please tell this to the pixies and my dear: the hour is near, the prophecy will be fulfilled, and the dark queen will rise again. This will come to pass; I will very much make sure of it."

His face then darkened as a scowl was imprinted on it, and he tightened the grip he had on Nathalie, making the poor woman suffocate from the fiercely tight embrace. "I've also been hearing how you have been treating the poor girl since you came to this school. If anyone is a bitch around here, it's most definitely you."

Despite the fact she was practically losing oxygen, Nathalie mustered all she had to give Alaric the darkest scowl she could. She realized now how wrong and foolish it was for her to be taking out something tragic that happened centuries ago on a poor girl who was unfortunately a huge part of the event but didn't know anything about it. Flora proven herself to be a very kind, forgiving girl, and for that Nathalie really was grateful, but she still could never forget what happened. "I realize now how wrong I was," she defended herself. "It was silly of me to blame Flora because she has no memory of what took place. She was only a poor child born into this horrible nightmare. But you cannot expect me to let all be forgiven and forgotten. If it wasn't for the spell Libitina cast on herself, I would have the great pleasure hoping the bitch is damned for all eternity in suffering hell."

"Regardless though, if you as so much bad-mouth my queen again or make the poor girl feel a slight bit bad, I will make you regret the very day you met me." He promised with deadly coldness icing his voice.

_I already do, jackass_, she thought.

With another flick of his hand, Nathalie was hurled against the wall, sent flying against her bookcase. She struggled to move pass her pain, remembering to cast some healing spells when she's done, and looked up to give Alaric a piece of her mind. But when she looked up, she saw he already vanished.

She slowly got up from the ground and looked around her suite, seeing the damages she was going to have to repeat later. "Damn him." She muttered to herself.

More than several days have passed since the truth has been revealed. The girls were able to make Flora feel better by not talking that much about Libitina or the prophecy, which she very much appreciated. Classes went on though, unfortunately for them, and they were learning brand new spells, studying tactics in training classes with the strict and tough Griselda, who never heard of the words 'going easy' or 'break' in her entire life and didn't play around when she taught the girls new ways to find weaknesses in their opponents, and unfortunately had to study and take lots of quizzes and tests.

Red Fountain was training the guys ten times harder with constant quizzes and tests, and nonstop training hours the students had to do in battle classes. Since the girls and guys had too much going on at school, there hasn't been that much dating going. Any contact going on between boyfriend and girlfriend was through phone calls or IMs.

"They have us working so hard, it's really taking a toll on us, snookums," Stella told Brandon over the phone as she and the girls were lounging in their living room, exhausted from the long lessons in the classes. She took a look at her recently new manicure and saw the pretty in pink nail polish was badly ragged and chipping off, looking weeks old instead of a new few days. "My manicure is suffering the most. My poor nails look hideous now."

"I'm sure everything is going to be okay, honey-bear," Brandon smiled, even though he knew she couldn't see it, after punching Riven hard for saying Stella was acting like her usual spoiled princess self.

"I hope so," Stella took a look at Flora, who was busy making tea for the girls. She lowered her voice, saying, "The girls and I are really about Flora. It's like she's barely present in reality anymore, and Bloom even told us sometimes at night, she's talking in her sleep and stirring. She doesn't even want to talk about her birthday anymore."

"Well finding out you're a reincarnation to a dark, evil witch is no picnic at the park, Stella," Brandon said. "Her birthday has a lot to do with an evil prophecy she was apparently born to do, which is why she doesn't want to talk about it."

Stella stole another glance at her friend. Flora was smiling her ever present warm smile and humming a happy tune as she poured hot, steaming tea into tiny tea cups. If she was really scared about the whole thing like Brandon thinks she is, then she's doing a marvelous job of hiding it.

"Well…on the plus side, she's the first witch I ever met with good fashion sense. A bit too much black maybe, but still very chic and stylish." Stella said, trying to look on the positive sides.

She got interrupted when a pillow was flanged extra hard at the back of her head, nearly throwing her off balance and making her drop her phone. She rubbed her head as she looked over her shoulder, to meet the glaring eyes of her friends.

"Stella." They hissed in unison.

"What did I say?" She demanded in a hiss while her boyfriend was chuckling. "Mind telling me what was so bad that I said?"

"Somehow, honey-bear, I doubt the fact she had good fashion sense in her past life is enough to make her feel better." He said.

"Oh, come on! Have you seen what the witches have been wearing lately? Don't even get me started on Icy, Darcy, and Stormy's outfits. Way ridiculous and horrible eye shadow."

Another pillow was thrown at her head again, only this time it was hard enough to knock her off balance and hit the floor while her phone was knocked from her hand. She turned to her friends and saw how each of them was their hardiest to control their laughter, but some were failing with that attempt.

"Stella? Stel? Are you there?" Brandon asked.

Stella crawled over to her phone, throwing her friends a death glare. "I'm here, snookums. Let's just say something throw me off balance." _And was thrown hard at me head_, she thought.

"I'm sorry, Stel, but I have to go to my next class. I'll call you soon, okay." He hanged up before she could say her usual 'I love you', ending to their phone conversation.

"Alright, which one of you is the person who threw those pillows?" she demanded.

"Guilty as charged, Stella." Bloom said, rising her hand. She squealed loud as Stella threw a pillow right at her face, knocking her off balance and causing her to fall off the couch. With some help from Layla, she was able to get back on her feet and sat back on the couch.

Flora joined into the action going on, walking into the living room and carrying a tray of her famous rose tea and some of her delicious baked goods. "Time for tea, sweeties."

"If anything can cure us after a stressful day of school, then it's your world-famous tea, Flo." Musa said, reaching for a cup and washing it down a gulp of the hot tea with a bite of Flora's famous chocolate cupcakes.

"Is there a chance you can share the recipe with your best friends?" Bloom asked, who wanted to get her hands on the rose tea recipe the first day she tried it.

"Sorry, but can't do that," Flora said, shaking her head with a smile. "That tea recipe has been passed down from every woman is my family for generations, learning it from an elder sister, mother, or aunt. I can't wait till I teach it to Rose."

"How is your little sister?" Layla asked.

"She's well. Trying to more brave." Flora chuckled as she recalled how her younger sister used to be easily frightened. But Rose proven she can step out from her comfort spot and step into the plate, showing her bravery when she saved Flora from a powerful convergence blast from the witches, taking the blast for her sister.

"Speaking of family," Tecna said. "Did you tell your parents about…well, you know?"

Flora nodded, her happy smile and mood vanishing into grimace. "I called my mom last night, and she told me the whole truth, including something that happened when I was born."

"What did she say?" Bloom said, placing her hand on her friend's shoulder. Flora smiled both sadly and gratefully at her.

The girls all quieted down, and after seeing their encouraging faces and comforting smiles, Flora started to explain. "It's turns out, girls; this isn't the first time the sinister marks appeared on my skin."

The girls traded looks of curiosity with each other before turning back to Flora, who continued to talk.

"I've always known what day my birthday was," Flora let out a breath of laughter. "But then again, every person knows that. I just never knew what time I was birth, which I found out was the stroke of midnight. When I was born, my mom said everything seemed fine. I was healthy, and after the nurses rinsed me off, she wanted to see her brand new baby. I was wrapped in a pink blanket, but I wasn't moving or making a single sound at all. Not even crying or shedding a tear. The doctor said I wasn't breathing, and my mom begged them to help me. But the minute she was close to giving me away to them, the birthing room and the whole hospital was immediately swallowed up in flames. Flames as dark as midnight black."

"The whole place was covered in black flames?" Bloom asked.

"That's what my mom said," Flora answered. "The whole place was engulfed by flames, everyone in every room of the hospital was hurled against the wall and knocked out, and the young children were untouched but all fall into a deep, seemingly eternal sleep. Despite the fact the hospital was on fire and the blaze wasn't burning anything up, the smoke was so thick with sickening stank, someone would almost die from inhaling too much of it. My mom was the only one conscious and held onto me tightly, trying to think of a way to protect us from the fire. She placed me on her lap and tried using her magic to put out the flames. On the nearby flames jumped onto my mother's lap and encircled around me. They didn't burn her, but they did form an invisible barrier, which prevented her from touching me. One black flame from the fire circle snaked around my tiny body until it finally reached my forehead and blazed the sinister 'S' on there. When the mark was set, I finally opened my eyes and they were the brightest yet darkest shade of red my mom swore she has ever seen before. The brighter my red eyes glow, the more intensity and stronger the fire would grow. She says she took one look at the beautiful infant resting on her lap and knew right then and there who I was. She knew I was the reincarnation of Libitina."

"Was the fire put out?" Layla questioned.

"My mom banged against the barrier imprisoning me in, blasted it with her own powers, and even screamed at me to break from the trance I was under, even though I was far too young to know what she was saying. I slowly closed my eyes again, and, after what felt like to be a long and restless century, I opened them again. My blooded eyes slowly changed to emerald green, and when I looked up at mom's puzzled face, a smile was slowly spreading across my face and I was reaching for her. The fire slowly died down until it was completely gone, leaving behind a faint trace of smoke, people were regaining conscious and didn't seem to remember what had happened, and I was finally freed from the black circle. My mom wasted no time reaching for me and holding me in her arms, gently cradling me and saying she would do whatever it takes to protect me from the horrible destiny that waits. When I was old enough, my mom sent me to Magix to keep me safe, because she already knew Alaric was the book's guardian and would come looking for me in Linpea."

Bloom gave her a comforting hug while looking at the other girls, unsure what to say or to do that would make her feel better.

"It's not so bad, Flora," Stella said, and immediately five pairs of eyes were turned to her. "Okay, yes, finding out you're a reincarnation of a dark, evil witch may seem…very bad, but on the plus side, you're the first witch I ever met with good fashion taste."

"Stella!" The girls exclaimed, frustrated, while Flora shook her head at the very predictable comment coming from the fashionista fairy.

"Stella, will it honestly kill you not to think about clothes for _five_ minutes? Five damn minutes!" Musa frowned.

"A fashionista never stops thinking about fashion even for a second, much less five minutes. And I'm just trying to be helpful and look at the positive side of all these." Stella frowned back at her.

"Are you honestly saying if you found out you were the reincarnation of a dark witch and meant to fulfill a destiny that came along with your birth, then thinking about her fashion sense would make you feel better?" the music fairy challenged.

"I'm just saying it's going to clear things up for me on how she dressed, and it's the only positive thing I can think of. Cause look at the tacky outfits the witches wear today. I will admit Libitina used a bit too much eye shadow, but the smoky eye look really did give her an edge and nevertheless it was a sweet outfit." Stella replied with an innocent shrug, hoping her friends could just see things her point of view on this.

"That may be true, Stella, but it still doesn't make me better. Nothing will ever make this horrible truth go away," Flora hung her head in defeat, sighing. "But I guess I will have to accept it. I'm the reincarnation of the dark angel, Libitina, and it's my destiny to release her and let her take full control on my eighteenth birthday. It's my destiny and there's nothing I can do to stop it from happening."

"Don't talk like that, Flora!" Musa pleaded. "You've always been the positive one who always looked on the bright side whenever things were looking way bad for us to fix, and there's no way I'm going to let you change and become little miss negative."

"Musa's right," Layla added. "We'll find some way to fight to destiny and there is no way we're going to let our best friend fulfill the prophecy."

Flora smiled at them, but it was a weak and sad, small smile. "I appreciate you girls trying to cheer me up, but this is one problem I'm not sure we can fix. Everyday more of Rosalina's memories are rushing into my head, and I can still feel her spirit buried deep inside me, wanting to break out. It's so hard to believe someone was so much like me betrayed every single person who ever cared about her, not even having any regrets about it."

"She's nothing like you, Flora." Bloom objected.

Flora shook her miserably as she got up from the couch and walked over to the window, looking outside and seeing the beautiful later afternoon day, and then staring at her reflection in the mirror. She was a bit scared of looking at it, because she was terrified of seeing Libitina staring back at her with an evil smile on her face. "I'm Libitina's reincarnation. Her spirit is my soul, and the part that is her is buried deep inside me. I could feel her trying to break out and she has even been contacting me in my dreams, saying the same thing over and over. 'The hour is near and the prophecy will be fulfilled.'"

"But there is no way that's going to happen," Flora turned around to look into the determined blazing eyes of her red-headed friend. "You may be her reincarnation, but you're absolutely nothing like her."

"She was a traitor, Flora, who knew exactly how powerful and dangerous the power was and what would happen if she possessed it, but didn't care at all. She was so obsessed with having power, it drove her mad and made her do such unthinkable things, such as destroying many realms, brining darkness to the entire magical universe, betraying her friends and then getting them out of the way when they rebelled against her." Tecna reminded her, getting up from her seat and walking over to Flora to give her a big hug. When she pulled away from the friendly embrace, she smiled at Flora. "You are a true friend, Flora. You are always there for us whenever we need you, always look on the positive side of things when things start to look hopeless, and always pull through. Also, logic dictates whenever a soul is reborn again, there's a great change in their personality and they are not always fifty-percent the same person as they once were. "

"But is that not the only thing that's bugging me," Tecna walked Flora back to the couch, and she was surrounded once again by the warm aura and faces of her friends. "Alaric is another problem getting to me."

The girls listened closely as Flora went over what happened between her and Helia as he sneaked back into the school to see her again late at night, telling them how Helia admitted he was jealous of Alaric because she didn't push him away when he came to her and he was mainly the cause that drove Julio and Rosalina apart, but also added in the end how he told her he actually loved her. As usual, her friends tried to give her words of comfort and their own opinions on the things, but also were excited when Flora told them Helia said he actually loved her.

"Helia honestly has nothing to worry about." Stella dismissed the case with a wave of her hand.

"He's just scared about history repeating itself again. When you think about, guys, it's like we're actors and actresses set to play in a historical event that took place over eight hundred years ago," Musa told them. "We're all playing the roles of our descendants while Flora, Helia, and Alaric are all taking on the main roles."

"What do you think about Alaric, Flora?" Bloom asked.

"I don't….know exactly. He may be handsome, but looks alone aren't what's going to make me fall for him," Flora confessed. "When I first met Alaric, I thought he was nothing more but a stalker who wanted to scare me, so I put my distance and tried not to think about him. When I saw him again, he was just like he was the first time we met: creepy and wicked. But between some moments back at Red Fountain and what happened in the forest, he started to show some warmth, opposed from the cold way he usually acted, and was there for me when I needed to cry. He held me tightly while I cried on his shoulder and got his suit stained with my tears, and didn't say or do anything except stroke my hair and rub my back. He acted gently with me when he told me the truth and Libitina's last battle with her friends. Before he left, he held me in his arms and when I looked up at him, there was something new in his eyes. Something that I haven't seen before, but was very similar to the way Helia looks at me."

"Is that why…you almost…well, you know?" Bloom couldn't find herself to finish, but the thought of Flora actually falling for that creep and letting him kiss her was too unbelievable, the young fairy felt like gagging.

"Almost, because when I looked at his black eyes, it made me forget almost everything. But then I remembered about Helia, and couldn't do that to him. I would never hurt him like that." Flora answered.

"Good for you, Flora," Stella nodded proudly with a smile on her face. "Only totally selfish, vain girls who cheat on her boyfriend and let another guy kiss her when she's already dating someone else."

"But you can't help, but wondered if Rosalina had feelings for Alaric?" Musa said.

_And also if history really will repeat itself again?_ That question made the girls stop for a minute and think about that. While the others were still looking on the positive side, Flora was still having some trouble looking at it.

Later that night, she was tossing and turning in her bed, finding herself to be lost in another nightmare.

"_Tik-tok, tik-tok, tik-tok," was being said in a rhythm like a nursery rhyme being said by what sounded to be a very young child no older than at least four years old, sounding awfully young and innocent but also incredibly chilling and frightening by the way the child was saying it over and over, echoing throughout the dark obviation that was dark as pitch-black._

"_You cannot hide from what you were meant to do." The voice said, now older and frighteningly with a harsher edge. _

_There was a blinding white light overheard in the sky, nearly blinding her vision, and a wave of the most negative dark and cold energy washed over her, hitting her much harder and stronger than a burst of powerful lightening and caused her to almost faint. _

_When Flora finally opened her eyes again when she was sure the bright light passed over, she saw she was transformed into Enchantix form and flowing above her home, Linpea. But now she wished she never unveiled her eyes, astonished by what she was seeing. _

_The beautiful nature plant featured with high, wide mountains, tall tress that could reach the heaven skies, flowers blossoming every second and in different vivid colors, and peaceful rivers and lakes clear as crystal and gave such a soothing aura was no more. It was reduced to a dank, horrible wasteland. Spirals of dark, extremely thick smoke curled up in the sky. Bare bones and dying, dried up and cracked plants remained left in the flower beds, as if it was caught by a horrific disease. The forests were ablaze with deadly flames, leaping from one charred tree to the other and the flames were spreading extremely quickly, making a sickening sound that sounded like dark laughter hollowing in triumph as it burnt everything up in sight. The mountains and waterfalls, which always brought a sense of peace and calmness whenever one looks at their amazing view, were now ugly and fierce volcanoes sprouting red lava and belching flames into the dour, smoke-wrenched sky. The waters were either dried-up or pooled with the crimson blood of the dead things drowning in its' depths. _

_Flora looked away and buried her face in her hands, feeling hot tears running down her cheeks. She wished she never opened her eyes, she wished she didn't have to see this horror._

_This was her realm, her home. Her beautiful home which was now nothing but horrible wasteland. She wandered what kind of monster would do something like this._

"_What's the matter?" Alaric said, appearing out of nowhere and hovering in the sky, his arms crossed against his chest and his cruel smirk spreading across his face. "I must say, Linpea looks so extraordinary with its' new makeover. Very ideal, wouldn't you agree?"_

_A flare of white-rage spread throughout Flora's body, filling her mind and heart with so much anger at the destruction of her home. She closed her eyes and stood still for a moment, feeling her power flowing uncontrollably throughout her body, feeling the pure energy of her nature powers and the dark current channeling from the raven power. When she opened her eyes again, she stared at Alaric with a flash flowing through her eyes and fired a powerful burst of green and black flaming energy at him, which knocked the villain right out from the sky and sent him craning to the ground. _

_Alaric was caught off guard by the sudden move and Flora took that opportunity to fire attack him again, hurling him against the ruins of a tree. He slowly got back on his feet, groaning in pain as he moved, but still looked up at her with that cold smile on his face. "Looks like I was right. The raven's power burns brightly within you, and, judging by the way it knocked me right out from the sky, it's reached the end of its' peak and is even more powerful and stronger than ever. The fuel from your anger is just what it needs to make it even stronger."_

_She was too anger to spread, so she let the energy blasts surging from her hands do all the talking for her. One after another, blast of a combined dark and bright, enraged energy escaped from her palms and were all aimed at Alaric, who was either dodging them or getting hit by them. The anger she felt from the destruction of her home and outraged by the painful sight of beautiful nature now lifeless and dank fueled even more energy to the dark magic bursting within her. _

_Flora finally lowered her hands, the blazing rage in her eyes slowly dissolved to exhaustion after she spent a good amount of time blindly blasting away. She flew down just a bit to see how Alaric was doing after taking all those powerful blasts. But when the smoke finally cleared from the place she last saw him, he was gone. _

"_Impossible." She muttered._

"_Looking for me." She turned around to see he was standing right behind her. Before she could do or say anything to him, he already had hold of her and once again she felt that painfully burning sensation surging through her body, blazing onto her wrists._

_When she was finally released from his grip, Flora flew as far away from him and looked down at her wrists. The glow of the vivid, sinister marks were bright scarlet and seemed to be mocking her each time they glow brightly with a faint pulse she could feel beating in them. She covered her wrists to hide them from sight, and scowled at Alaric's smirking face, which showed amusement in his expression and his coal eyes hollowing in cold laughter._

"_What have you done to my home?" she demanded. _

_He arched an eyebrow at her, with the smirk still un-wiped from his face and the laughter never decreasing from his eyes. "As much as I would love to take credit for this magnificent work, I didn't do anything. It shocks me very much you don't recognize your own handy work or remember the fun you had destroying your own realm."_

_Libitina did this? She actually did this to her home, to the forest? Tightness was starting to form in her throat, making it impossible for her to even speak. Each time she opened her mouth to say something, no sound would come out so she would have to cover it with her hands and close it again. But it really didn't matter she said anything since words couldn't even describe the unbelievable, indescribable destruction she was witnessing. She wondered how Libitina, who use to love nature since it meant the world to her, go on with herself knowing she was the one causing all this. Knowing she was responsible for all this chaos. That was beyond the young fairy's thinking. _

"_Just imagine how wonderful this place will look again when you regain your throne. It's going to look ten times more speculator than this," Alaric said, with his hands behind his back, his smile both smug and relaxed. He started taking steps toward her, as if he was walking on solid ground. "I have a message for you and it will be delivered, whether you like it or not."_

_Flora fired her best attacks and spells, pouring nearly all her power into those attacks, but they all seem to bounce off him. She tried wrapping him with vines, but he soon easily break free from the trap; controlled branches to slap him, but he used his powers to fire and destroy them; flung painful and poisonous thrones of punishment his way, but they deflected off him, as if he was protected by an invisible barrier. _

"_Skies will burn, flesh will become stone, chaos and mayhem will strike, the suns will set down on each planet. Never to rise again." Alaric declared, saying those words in a strange rhythm like he was reciting a dark poem. _

_She could only do what the she hasn't tried yet, and that was getting out of here. She hated to leave her home like this, but there wasn't anything she could do right now to heal the forest. _

_Flora fluttered her Enchantix wings once before she zoomed through the sky. She was mustering all the strength and speed she had to go far, fluttering them as hard as she could to make them fly faster. Despite all her best efforts, she could feel his presence following right behind her and easily catching up with her. She had to dodge multiple energy blasts firing at her, turned back a few times to hit him with some attacks on her own, and continued to fly faster. _

"_You wear the marks on your body, the shadow appeared when the marks were revealed and you were accepted into the circle, and the great power still pulses within you," Alaric summoned his most powerful spell to make two enormous hands made of black fire reach out toward Flora and tried to grabbed her. Flora hit them with vines and blossom blasts, but nothing seemed to be working. She saw her magic wasn't having any effect on them. "You're making this far more difficult than it needs to be."_

"_Leave me alone!" She yelled desperately. _

"_Time is not going to wait forever, my dear," She didn't need to turn around to know a dark, cold grin spread across his face, and was well aware of the wicked laughter heard in his tone. "You can't hide from who you are and what you are meant to do."_

"_Transportus back to Magix." She said, waving her magic-glowing left hand in front of her. There wasn't anything she could do here to ease the pain of her home and she doubted she could keep running from Alaric forever, so going back to Magix, possibly finding her friends, and getting some backup seemed like a good plan._

_The gesture she did with her hand and the spell she chanted created a portal that sliced through the sky, standing right in front of her. Flora flew right through the portal and closed it quickly after she went through, sighing in relief as she watched the passageway close before he could get through. But when she turned around, she was astonished to see Magix was recued to a horrible wasteland, like her home was. Consumed by black and red flames growing fiercer and stronger each second, buildings reduced to scraps of badly burnt ruins where raven birds were posted on it and standing eerily still, shadow beings lurking on the streets and paying little attention to her. _

_She slowly landed on her feet, transforming herself back, and looking around at the horrific sight, becoming more sickened by each thing she was seeing. The realm of Magix was struck with such dark, intense magic and the dark queen left it lifeless._

The first (and also last time) she was here, screams of the innocent being tormented and cold laughter of the wicked filled the air with such frightening sound. But now there wasn't a sound being heard for miles; everything was so hauntingly quiet. Even the shadow beings were quiet as they crawled among the streets; the flames cast a silent hush as they grew fiercer.

"Magnificent, isn't it?" said a voice. Flora looked up at the sky, where the voice seemed to be coming from, and gasped at once by what she saw. The grand throne was lowering down to the ground, and the dark queen slowly rose from her throne and took small steps toward Flora.

She looked exactly like she did in the portrait: dressed in a tight-fitting cat suit and black stiletto-heeled ankle boots, her caramel hair flowing by the gentle breeze, the innocence swept away in dark beauty on her beautiful face, her ruby eyes both breathtaking and frightening as they glow brightly in dark triumph, and a delicate yet cold smile spread across her face. Her tiara shimmered the dark light, and she was holding her trusty staff in her right hand.

_"Hello Flora." she said._

_Flora kept quiet from the moment the young woman stepped off her throne, and took a few more seconds to take a really good look at her, staring at her wide-eyed. "Rosalina." she said the name in one breath when she gained some control of her voice._

_The look-alike queen let out a breath of coldly amused laughter and said "I haven't been called that name in over eight hundred years. I am now called Libitina." She fixed her lips together in a tight, form line and had her eyes narrowed into slits as she took a long amount of time, which felt like a long century to Flora, examining from her head to toe slowly and repeatedly. She burned every identical feature into memory, which was everything, and checked for any flaws, which she didn't find. When she looked up at Flora again, she looked to be satisfied and her lips curved up into a twisted, sinister smile. "I must admit it took far too long for my soul to be reborn again, but now I can see it was totally worth it. You turned out to be even more remarkable than I hope you would be, and we look so much alike we can easily pass as twin sisters. And isn't it so ironic my spirit was born into the body of a nature fairy, a power I use to have?"_

_Flora didn't make a respond to that question, instead she was starting at Libitina dumbfounded and speechless. She couldn't pull her eyes away from the dark angel's face, which was her very own face. Her face twisted up in a completely dark image she never once believed she would see on her face. Until now._

_"What's the matter, sweetie? Cat got your tongue?" Libitina taunted when Flora didn't make a reply._

_"You're me," Flora began._

_"And I am you," Libitina finished. She then used her free hand to reach out toward Flora and Flora found herself reaching out for that hand. Black energy from the dark force Libitna was channeling and the green magic Flora was channeling from the good-hearten lightness in her heart collided and formed a barrier wall that prevent the girls' hands to touch each other. Libitina at first frowned at this, but slowly the frown turned into an eerie smile as she pulled her hand away. "How very odd. I am you and you are me, but it appears we cannot touch."_

_Flora was able to finally free herself from the hold those blooded eyes had on her, and she looked around at what remained left in the destroyed realm. It looked just as bad as Linpea did. Flashes of the sickening sight of her home raced through her mind and remembering the terrible aftermath made tears of rage flow down her cheeks. She wanted Libitina pay dearly for all the horrible destruction she has done. "How could you!" _

_"How could I what?" Libitina said in a tone that sounded like a little girl questioning what she done wrong when she already knew the answer to that question._

_"How could you destroy your own home? How could betray your friends? How could you kill them? How can you possibly live with yourself knowing you're the cause of destruction and suffering of many people?" Flora was becoming more and more outraged as she listed them out. _

_"You're getting angry, aren't you?" Libitina smiled coldly, amused laughter heard well in her tone. "You do realize Flora that anger is what allowed me to escape from that imprisonment in your mind and take control of you before?"_

_The rage and utter hatred she felt toward the she-devil standing in front of her cooled down when those words slipped off her tongue. Flora didn't know if Libitina was honestly telling the truth or just playing with her head. "What are you talking about?" she asked. _

_"You mean you don't know?" That didn't seem like a question, more like a statement. "When you and your friends went to Magix and then got attacked by shadow beings, you began to feel angry. You felt angry towards the monsters for ruining your fun and bringing harm to your friends, and at yourself for nearly letting them beat you. Did you feel a jolt going through you when you felt that rage?"_

_Flora wasn't sure what to say. She thought back to that day and did remember feeling that strange jolt traveling through her body. A powerful jolt more powerful than anything she ever felt before and also incredibly dark and cold traveling through her body and was like a wave washing over her. As the wave washed her, she was consumed by the strange jolt and let it take hold of her. _

_Flora placed her balled-up hand against her chest and bit her lip so hard she could almost taste blood. As she looked up at her look-alike, she saw her smirk turning into a knowing smile her left eyebrow arched up, and the ice-coldness in her eyes turn a little less harsh...and showed specks of softness. Looking into those almost soft eyes, Flora let some confusion lifting off her shoulders and said "It...was washing all over me like a wave. I usually don't get that mad and I have better control over it..."_

_"But when you saw your friends being harmed, anger was blazing madly within you," A twinkle gleamed in Libitina's brilliant crimson eyes with knowing wisdom, but also held darkness. "The anger was so raw and blazing mad, it had a complete hold of you. Anger is a very raw emotion, which you try not to show, and is filled with so much hatred and darkness and takes massive amounts energy to muster up such a strong emotion. This is why it gives the raven strength while it feeds upon the emotion. It is what gave me enough power to take control for the moment. I have to tell you how much I enjoyed being back in action. Even if it was for a brief moment, I still very much enjoyed it."_

_"A brief moment?" Flora repeated, a flicker of confusion crossing her face. "What do you mean?"_

_"You gained conscious," answered the dark angel. "After a jumble of my old memories were spinning around in your head and you blacked out, I was sent back to the cold depths of your mind," As she said this, a scowl darkened her face, and Flora didn't interrupt her while the queen was lost in her train of thought. Moments later, she gained control of her herself and she was wearing her signature cold, sinister smile as she looked at Flora with those deadly eyes. "But no matter, because soon I will be released again-__**permanently**__ this time-and I will not only be the angel of darkness, I will be the queen of all evil and hell. I shall become a dark queen again, rule each world with an iron fist, and become so strong and powerful no one will dare think of challenging me. That is unless they wish be to brutally tormented, suffering an incredibly slow and painful death, and have their souls suck out from their bodies."_

_"You're just as crazy as Alaric if you think I would ever let that happen!" Flora exclaimed, hoping her voice sounded firm instead of croaked. But she saw the insult didn't wipe away the cold smile on Libitna's face. "I will never let that happen."_

_Libitina didn't utter a single word and only bored those deadly eyes into Flora, who was soon shaking a bit. Looking into those eyes, Flora was placed in some kind of trance and it was Libitina could sense all the fear she was trying not to show. Seeing that fear caused the smile on her face to widen into a full ear-to ear, creepy grin, and she laughed. A cold, malicious and brittle laugh that was the most frightening sound Flora has ever heard before. "I find it so amusing you actually believe you can stop all this from happening," she said. , eyes howling so much laughter. "Silly, naive girl. Do you really believe you can stop this from happening? You think you can escape the glorious destiny that awaits you on the night of your birth?"_

_"It may be my destiny, but I'll find some way to stop it!" Flora vowed determined._

_Libitina's eyes were howling in such laughter. "You can fill your head with all the child-like nonsense you want, but let me be the first to tell you this as loudly and clearly as I can. Your school can put up hundreds of different protection spells and place elite guards at every inch of the campus. Your friends can play body guard and watch you 24/7. But none of that even matters, because the destiny will happen one way or another. No matter what you hope, no matter where you go, no matter how you squirm, there is absolutely nothing you can do to stop it." _

_Her eyes were huge and an unusual breath-taking shade of red, which reminded Flora of a demon. Libitna looked over at Flora, with that sinister smile on her face, and her face twisted into darkness and shadows. The features that had delicately enticing and feminine were no sharp and hard, morphing right before Flora's eyes. Her flawless tan skin seemed to tightening around her bones, accentuating every vein until you can see the blood pumping through them. She looked like a monster, a pure frightening monster. _

_A sharp wind began to whip around Flora, causing the young fairy to flinch as if she received the hardest slap. The wind was getting stronger each second; gathering up more air that was so strong it knocked Flora off her feet. She held her skirt down with one hand while she used the other to shield herself._

_She opened her eyes just a bit to see Libitina coldly smiling at her. Her evil twin lifted up her staff high in the air, the raven crescent glowing radiantly black and red, and opened her mouth to release a loud shrieking sound that sounded high pitch as a screech but also low, giving a sense of a beautiful, haunting song that reminded Flora too much of the song the raven sung. _

_The eerie sound immediately caught the attention of the black ravens resting on the building, which all turned to stare at Flora with those crimson, soulless eyes piercing right through her. Every place she turned, there was always a pair of blooded eyes staring right back at her showing nothing but chilling depths of cold, deep hollowness. Then quickly one by one, without warning, they were lit up in flames. They opened their mouths to add a chorus to the frightening sounds Libitina was making as they fluttered their fiery wings and encircled around Flora, moving so swiftly they were becoming one with the tornado and created one of black flames. _

_"You cannot hide from who you are and what you are meant to do," Libitina announced, and her voice was clear through the powerful wind. "The prophecy will be fulfilled, and the dark queen will rise again. You were born to fulfill the vow I swore on my deathbed, to help me get my revenge on those who dared challenge me and regain my throne. You were born for that purpose and that purpose alone."_

_"_No!" Flora screamed in her dream, saying it out loud in her dream as she jolted up straight and was finally awakened from that horrible dream. So many questions, thoughts, and emotions were spiraling inside her, and she was unsure whether to cry or sigh in relief it was over for now.

Instead she did neither and focused on getting her heavy breathing back to normal, taking gulps of deep breaths before slowly letting them out, and tried to get her heartbeat at a normal pace. Beads of anxious sweat were forming on her forehead and her eyes stung with tears close to falling, but she didn't have time to start crying now.

Splashing cold water on her face seemed to be the only thing that would calm her down after having such a disturbing dream, and a nice cup of dream tea would help give her a peaceful sleep when she goes back to sleep.

Flora stretched out her groggy arms and legs then went to the bathroom. She used the bowl Stella uses for her latest spa treatments, washed it off before filling with ice cold water. She gathered her hair into a ponytail, took in a deep breath, and dipped her face into the water. When a few seconds went by, she slowly pulled her head out and splashed handfuls of water onto her already wet face, splashing more water into her face to help stop the spinning in her head.

There, now she was starting to feel better. She wiped her wet face with a towel and slowly smiled at her mirror's reflection when she felt relief. But Flora sucked in her breath when she noticed the reflection. Ice-coldness chilled her warm eyes, and the reflection blinked only once before her green eyes brightened to ruby red, and a cold smile spread across her face.

"You cannot hide from what you are born to do," Libitina said. "The near is near and the prophecy will be fulfilled. The dark queen will rise once again."

"NO!" Flora screamed, turning her head away. Hesitantly, she slowly turned her head back to the mirror and sighed in relief when she saw her normal reflection looking relieved.

After quickly leaving the bathroom and drinking two cups of dream tea, Flora went back to bed and thankfully fell back into a deep, dreamless sleep. But before she was swept away in the sea of unconsciousness, she couldn't shake the feeling that something buried deep inside with an ice-cold hollow shelf of a black heart was laughing.


	9. Chapter 9

"Are you kidding me?" Stormy exclaimed, her body shaking with so much anger, a current of lightening was snaked around her body and ran through her puffy flop of hair. "Are you fucking with us right now?"

"There is no way it could be true." Darcy added, anger heard clear in her voice.

Icy seemed to be the most mad out of the three of them. Her blue eyes were glowing in ice-white, causing a sheet of ice to cover practically the whole place. "You're actually saying that nature pixie is really _her_? Are you serious right now?"

Alaric responded to those comments with a simple smirk spreading across his face before he took a sip of his scotch.

Since everything went downhill with Baltor, who proven to be pathetic and a complete joke like Lord Darkar, the Trix were captured by the elite guards of White Rock and forced to go back to the place they called hell. White Rock was a positive, good-nature rehabilitate place where bitter people are sent to be straightened out, learn the meaning of being sweet and kind, and the enjoyment of peacefulness. The Cloud Tower head mistress, Ms. Griffin, first sent them there after those Winx girls-particularly Bloom-beat their asses when Bloom got back her powers in hopes it would make them be a little less crazy and also a well-deserved punishment for everything they have done.

Sending them there didn't make them any less mean, only the exact opposite, but it was the cruelest punishment they ever had to suffer. At white rock, they had to do arts and crafts activities were that something for pre-school students, sit through long lectures about being a good neighbor and helping those in need, there were butterflies and lullabies, flowers and cutesy animals, and annoying songs practically everywhere singing about peace and love and all that hippie stuff. What made it even more badly was they were forced to wear those ridiculous white robes and headbands that somehow weakened their powers.

The whole place was so sweet and spice and everything nice, the witches were practically dying from the insanity. Until Alaric came to spring them out.

It was pretty funny the way he appeared because when Lord Darkar came, he made such a big, grand entrance, unlike Alaric, who went the simple way and was sitting calmly at the bench across from the hill where the witches were moaning and groaning about destroying the whole place the second they were out of there. When the witches looked his way, they first thought he was another one of those holograms they have been seeing, but quickly were stunned by both his looks and his gorgeous black eyes. He was smiling charmingly and had beautiful looks of a stunning God, looking thousands of time more handsome than Baltor, and behind his beautiful eyes, they saw such horrific wickedness howling within and that made them fall for him even more.

He looked up at them for a moment, his charming smile becoming more dark and sinister, and then, without saying a spell or gesturing his hands, the whole place was charred up in black flames, burning up everything in sight.

"Wow." Stormy muttered as she and her sisters glanced up at the burnt-up realm, then looked at the young man who was smirking at his handy-work, looking quite pleased with himself.

"I like him." Darcy said. He seemed to hear her, and walked over to them, his arms crossed behind his back and his smirk never out of place.

"You are the Trix Witches. Icy, who has the heart of ice, Darcy the lady of darkness, and Stormy the queen of storms. It's so delighting to meet the last descendants of the witch coven." Alaric said.

"Okay, so you know about us, but we don't know you," Icy said, starting to like this guys as much as the others did. "Care to introduce yourself."

Alaric bowed low before them. "Alaric's the name. Causing mayhem and destruction is a game I very much enjoy playing."

He helped them escape White Rock and used a teleportation portal to take them to Shadow Haunt. The witches didn't like it too much being back at the underground kingdom again since it brought up awful memories of the loser they use to work for, and questioned Alaric about his choice of location. He told them he has a home, a kingdom incredibly darker and better than this, saying this was only a temporary hide-out and they would go back to his home when the time was right. Alaric wasted no time getting them out of those ridiculous robes and back into their regular clothes, gave their magic a huge power boost, and told them they weren't going to be exactly his servants but he did need their services.

He told them about everything from how Rosalina became Libitina, the angel of darkness and queen of all evil, Flora being her reincarnation, and the prophecy that came along with her birth. By the time he finished, the witches were shocked and fuming with anger.

"I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS!" Icy yelled, outraged. "All this time we were chasing after Bloom and Stella, we could have been after Flora."

"The Midnight Raven is thousands of time more powerful than the Dragon Fire," Darcy said. "With that kind of power on our side, we would have been queens of the _frigging_ universe and ended those losers once and for all."

Stormy started to look less mad, quieter as she was lost in her thoughts. "I thought Flora looked familiar."

Three pairs of eyes turned to her, two narrowed into slits and cold while the other was amused. Looking into Icy and Darcy's eyes, Stormy could tell she was about two seconds away from being strangled.

"You knew, but you didn't tell us!" Icy exclaimed.

"Quit your whining, witch, and let me explain," She said. "When I was twelve and staying over Grandma's house for the summer, Grandma told me about the story of the Midnight Raven and the legend of Libitina, who was a huge role-model and goddess to witches who to this day wanted to follow in her footsteps. When I first saw Flora, I thought she looked familiar. Very vaguely familiar."

"STORMY!" They loudly shouted.

"Give me a break," she said. "I was only twelve when I saw that picture. You can't expect me to remember everything."

"That's because you have a low IQ of a pencil!" Darcy barked.

Their bickering turned into a huge argument, and that huge argument turned into a huge cat-fight that had them hitting each other with their most powerful spells while yelling nasty things to each other. Hearing them argue and watching them act like little children, Alaric was quickly starting to get annoyed and also getting a headache from all this. He could now understand why Darkar wasted no time getting rid of them when he turned Bloom into a dark witch, and also understood why the Winx girls and those boyfriends of theirs always beat them. He yelled over their fighting to get their attention, but saw it was only making them fight even more and trashing the place with their missed aims, hitting a few items of his that were precious and irreplaceable. That made him more annoyed and angry.

"SILENCE!" He ordered, firing a powerful jolt of black energy that felt like a powerful blast of lightening as it made contact with the witches, slamming into their chests. The jolt was hundred times more powerful and stronger than their own combining spells, and hurled each witch hard against the cold wall. They struggled to get back on their feet, to move pass their pain, but when they did, they scowled at him.

"Now that you girls are done," Alaric taunted, a smug smirk spreading across his face. "It's time to go onto business. Like your previous masters, I wish for darkness to conquer the entire magical universe. Not only that, but pay back certain people who I plan to get revenge on and bring back someone I cared about more than anything. Someone I loved more than anything else in the entire universe, even more than I do of evil and mayhem. However, unlike the fools you worked for and got beaten at the end, I'm not going to underestimate our opponents. That's the biggest mistake a villain could ever make, which was the downfall of those idiots. In order for the prophecy to be fulfilled, I'm going to need a few items first but more importantly I'm going to need the girl. You witches are going to distract and destroy anything that gets in our way while I try to get closer to Flora."

"Helping a powerful evil witch get back in control and ruling the entire universe does seem like a fun little project," Darcy said. "But exactly do we get in return if we help you and her? And more importantly, are you going to keep your promise?"

"Yeah. Two guys already used and bossed us around before, and if you think you can do that, too, then you have another thing-"

Their angrily, defensive faces softened, their cold eyes losing more of its' chill and becoming blankly hollow as Alaric only started at them with those deadly eyes, which were now glowing bright onyx and placed them all under a powerful trance. His smirk widened into a dark, vicious smile when he saw he had their full, blank attention.

"Listen to me and listen to me good," His voice, as well as his eyes, sounded deep and charmingly seductive, but had cold undertone. "I wanted you witches to be my equals, but now it seems like I'm going to have to be master. You will help me, and you will do it without complaining. Besides Libitina gives good rewards to those who help her. While she will be the queen of every universe and dimension, she can grant general and dictatorship to three realms you can be control of. Not only that, but you'll have the great chance to finally dispose those annoying Winx girls and also this."

His onyx eyes glowed even brightly than before and a big curtain of black was being raised from underneath the witches' feet, entangled up into a tight bound as a small stream of blackness struck their necks. They bit their bottom lips as hard as they could, so they wouldn't scream from the burning sensation the darkness was blazing on their necks. Right at the back of their necks was the sinister S. But instead of its' bloody red color, there was a different color blazed onto each girl. Icy's was neon blue, Darcy's bright purple, and Stormy's bright red.

"You could say they're like those power jewels Lord Darkar gave you that increased your powers, but wearing the Raven's marks will give you a huge power boost. Making you so strong, nothing will be able to stop you," Alaric explained, as the girls were released from the shadows' hold and descended back on the ground, instantly disappearing. "Wear them with pride, wear them proudly. Now, do you girls understand the task?"

"Yes Alaric." They smiled blankly, completely under his spell.

"Good. Now, I need you witches to do me a favor for me. Bring me Flora-_unharmed_ without a scratch on her, or else you will suffer a very brutal punishment-and destroy those pathetic pixies friends of hers if they get in your way."

"It will be our pleasure." Icy smirked.

Even without his influence over them, the witches still would love being on Alaric's side. He had the pure looks of an angel, but inside contained the heart of the devil. That, along with the amazing powers he has, made him the perfect man.

The girls were still trying to plan what they were going to do for Flora's birthday, but Flora was having no part of it or telling them what she wanted to do. During breakfast, the girls were making lists and exchanging ideas on different birthday plans, like going to a vacation resort realm or throwing a huge birthday bash while chomping on the scramble eggs and biscuits they were serving for breakfast. Time really was speeding up fast, and Flora's birthday was now only a week away which meant time was running out and planning had to be done.

Stella sighed dramatically, finishing off the rest of her buttered biscuit. She understood why Flora was still uneasy about her birthday coming around the corner, but enough was enough and there was still the matter of throwing her the greatest birthday she ever had. "Flora, your birthday is a week away. Seven days away. You have to tell us what you wanna do."

Flora was toying around with her scramble eggs. "You know what I want. I want...for you all to stop talking about my birthday and move onto a different subject."

"Tough luck because we're going to keep talking about it, even if the damn thing hurts you," Stella demanded. "You are going to talk about birthday and you're going to do it with a smile on your face."

"Chill Stella. There's no need to be drama-tripping," Musa said. "If she doesn't feel like talking about her birthday, then she doesn't have to talk about it. No reason to bite her head off."

"Says you," Stella snapped. "I'm only looking out for one of my best friends and trying to make sure she has the best birthday she has ever had."

Taking on the role of a mother, Bloom gave her friends a hard glance that said to stop arguing before things start getting out of hand. "Knock it off, you two. Fighting is not going to get us anywhere," She told them, and then turned to Flora, who was avoiding meeting her eyes. "Flora, I don't mean to sound mean, but it's really time you stop worrying so much about the prophecy and Libitina and concentrate on more important things. Like what you wanna do for your birthday."

Flora silently looked at Bloom and gave her the harshest, most ice-cold glare the girls ever seen in her eyes, which was so dark and cold enough to literally kill. She then shrugged, taking a sip of her morning tea before setting the cup down on the plate. Speaking, without opening her eyes, she said to Bloom "Typical. So very typical. Whenever a problem is not circling around you, you decide to take charge and move on." She opened her eyes, which looked smug and coldly amused, and a smirk that was thin and cold as ice spread across her face. "But then again, you always were such a bossy leader dear Luna."

"Luna?" Bloom mumbled in disbelief while the others stared at Flora wide-eyed. "Flora, did you just call me Luna?"

Flora rolled her eyes and was about to make a nasty remark until she felt pain shooting right through her head, making her close her eyes in pain and wince as she placed her hand against it. When she overcame her pain, she blinked her eyes a couple of times while she shook her head before she finally opened them wide.

Her friends looked at her with concern in their eyes. Tecna asked "Are you alright?"

"I just had some pain in my head," Flora said, shaking it one more time to make sure the pain was clear.

"Another memory?" Musa asked, knowing whenever Flora has headaches they usually happen when memories that belonged to Rosalina are roaming around her head.

"More like a quick flashback," Flora clarified. "It was too short and quick to be a full memory. More like a picture, a picture that wasn't very clear."

"What was it about?" Layla asked curiously.

That was something she didn't want to answer so she decided to change the subject. Her mind was fuzzy from the recent moments, so she couldn't remember exactly what just happened. But she did seem to recall she was acting cold like Libitina and saying mean things to Bloom. She wasn't even sure how it happened. One minute she was silent with frustration as her friends kept questioning her about her birthday plans, then the next she was acting like a stuck-up witch.

"Bloom, I'm so sorry. Whatever I said, I didn't mean it. Honestly, I didn't." she sincerely apologized.

"I know you didn't." Bloom smiled.

"Moving on from the moment," Stella said, and Flora smiled, grateful for the change in subject. "You still have to tell us what you want to do for your birthday. It's only a week away, so we have to get ready."

Flora rolled her eyes and sighed with traced of a faint smile shown in her features. "You guys are never going to stop talking about it till I break down, are you?"

The five Winx girls exchanged private looks with one another, then turned back to Flora, smirking at her while saying in unison "No."

"The thing is...I'm not too sure myself what I want to do for my birthday," the nature fairy admitted. "I just have been too busy lately."

"Well, what would you like to do?" Layla asked. "It could be anything you want."

"Though I'm not a huge fan of doing repeats, we could throw you another birthday parade," Stella suggested. "Only it will be bigger and ten times better than the last one."

Flora thought about that for awhile as she bit her bottom lip to help her think. "Well...I remember how much fun we had when we went to the resort realm. Only this time, we should go to one that has a nice, sunny beach."

"A beach party! That's an awesome idea!" Bloom said.

"It will be cool and we'll be chilling," Musa began.

"And fun and relaxing," Tecna finished, and the two high-fived each other.

"A very good idea for this birthday year," Layla said. "And it would be cool if the guys could come with us."

"It settled then. We're going to a vacation resort," Stella happily announced, excited to be getting the chance to get a head start on swimsuit shopping and getting the tan her skin has been begging for since winter began. She whipped out her cell phone and wasted no time getting her travel agent on the phone. "Now the first thing we need to do, dahlings is for me to get my agent to make reservations for us at the best summer resort with the best hotel services."

"Shouldn't we ask the guys first if they have any plans before we start making reservations for them? I mean, next week is spring break." Bloom asked. Stella only smiled at her naive question while she waited impatiently for her travel agent to get on the phone.

"If I knew the guys well enough like I know science and computers, then logic predicts it's a no-brainier. Any plans they had, they'll be more than happy enough to cancel them and join their girlfriends for a nice vacation and help celebrate a friend's birthday." Tecna explained as she pulled out her handy handheld and send e-vites to Timmy and the rest of the boys.

After talking to her agent for less than two minutes, Stella shut her phone with a satisfied smile on her face and announced "It's all set, girls. Thank my travel agent, Hector, because he made us reservations for twelve at one of the best vacation resorts. Very beautiful islands and nature sights, which I know will please you very much, Flora. They have the best five-star hotel with high-speed Internet and an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet, which pleases me, Tecna, and the boys who eat like a hungry pack of hyenas. There's also a quite city with cute boutiques, which pleases me again, and cool clubs with hot music that I know will make Musa and Layla happy. The place is called Sunnyvale or something like that because it's always sunny. Almost like Solaria."

"I think you mean Sunnyvilla Paradise, Stella," Layla corrected. "My parents use to take me there plenty of times before for family trips, and I loved it."

"You actually mean the King and Queen of Tides allowed their precious, prim and proper daughter to do things un-ladylike like dancing with commoners and surfing?" Musa teased, remembering how headstrong Layla's parents were on raising her to be a proper princess.

"Yeah right," Layla chuckled. "I had to sneak out every night to hit the clubs and roam around the streets and go to the beaches early in the morning before anyone was awake."

"Alright, Stella, you said what the guys would like there, and what you and the rest of the girls would like there. But what about me?" Bloom asked.

"Sky's coming with you." Stella answered in a good-nature 'duh' tone.

Bloom blushed when she realized that was a very good thing, but still smiled. "So, what's Sunnyvilla Paradise like?"

"It's fresh." Musa said.

"I believe it's like that sunny, relaxing place you told us you wished to visit one day on Earth called Hawaii." Tecna said.

"Are you serious? It's actually like Hawaii?" Bloom wanted to go to Hawaii for as long she could remember.

"Sort of, but ten time better." Stella said.

"It's the perfect place to celebrate my birthday." Flora smiled.

"Well, now that we finally and thankfully have that out of the way," Stella said. "We move on the second most important thing to do for someone's birthday: finding the perfect birthday present. So, Flora, what do you want for your birthday/"

Flora only smiled as she wrapped her arms around Layla and Tecna and looked at Musa, Stella, and Bloom, who were sitting across from her. "You guys are going to be there to celebrate my birthday and are the best friends any girl could hope to have. What more can I ask for?"

"Aww." They smiled.

"No, seriously, what do you want?" Stella asked, making the other girls laugh by the way she totally ruined the tender moment with her question. "I'm serious. If you're stuck on ideas, I'll be more than happy to give you a few birthday gifts suggestions. Like a brand new spring and summer wardrobe. You do have cute clothes, don't get me wrong, but a girl could always be open to new clothes. Or an all access pass to the best spa, but then again jewelry is always the best gift. As they say, my dear, diamonds are a girl's best friend and you could never go wrong with that. But then again-"

Stella got cut off when Musa shoved her half-eaten biscuit into her mouth, which made the girls laugh even harder. Stella spit out the biscuit, dropping it on her plate, and gave Musa a hard glare.

Musa smiled innocently and said "I love you like a sister, Stella, but I'd love you even more if you could only learn to put a cork in that mouth of yours."

"Ha, ha, ha." Stella replied sarcastically, finishing off the rest of Musa's biscuit. Since it was shoved into her mouth and covered with her spit, it was now technicality hers and she wasn't going to let a delicious breakfast go to waste. Even if it had a bite on it already.

After breakfast, another day of classes began once again and as any day in class, the girls tried to stay focus and pay attention and not doze off when things start to get boring. Stella usually solves the problem by nodding her head and looking straight ahead while her mind was thousands of miles away or work on her nails when she sure no one was looking. But that did little to help her get through the day when Professor Palladium caught her doing her nails while he was teaching the girls a powerful spell that would allow them to make connect with pass origins.

"Stella, would you like to demonstrate the spell for us?" the professor called out especially loud, and on cue, the classmates turned their heads to Stella who was flustering.

"Uh...of course, professor." Through her brief flirt with humiliation, she maintained to keep her head held high as she walked down the stairs and joined her professor, who was standing in front of the auditorium. "Do I need to transform to do this spell?"

"No," He shook his head with a smile. "However, you do need to focus all your energy into this enchantment. It's a very powerful spell, so it's going to take all your Winx and concentration to achieve communication with your past relatives. The first and most important thing you need to do is clear your head of all thoughts and find inner peace. You may try mediating if that will help you."

Stella nodded and levitated herself a few feet in the air, getting herself into mediation posture with her legs criss-crossed, hands resting on her lap, and her eyes slowly closed shut.

"Now, Stella, I want you to clear you head of all thoughts and focus all your energy into one concentration of the person whom you wish to make contact with. Try to picture that person."

Stella knew exactly whom she wanted to use the spell on. She pictured everything she remembered about the certain person, right down to the outfit she could only imagine she would be wearing. She felt an unbelievably rush of warmth coming from her sun and moon energies going through her body and make a glow around her body, sticking onto her like a second skin.

"Very good. I can see you are very concentrated. Now repeat after me. Reach across space and barrel through time; it is my relative I ask you to find."

"Reach across space and barrel through time; it is my relative I ask you to find." Stella repeated.

_For a moment, nothing seemed to happen, which made her think she must have done something wrong. But then there was an explosion of blinding, bright light that reminded her of the bright sun, then a glow of moon's calming light, and lastly a dazzling display of dust from the dazzling stars. Finally, the bright lights reduced to nothingness. A void of blackness with a mass of fog, so thick and heavy she could barely see her own hands. _

_"How is a girl supposed to see anything through this fog?" She said to herself, and then lifted her left hand over her head. "Nightlight."_

_An orb of bright sunlight emerged from her palm, flying up to the air and shedding bright light in the depressing room with its' rays. Stella used that light to see her way through the fog that was slowly starting to clear up bit by bit. The place was so quiet, she could hear her own breathing as she inhaled and exhaled, and it was starting to give her the creeps. But she put her slight fear aside, and continued to move forward, taking her eyes peel for anything suspicious. _

_She then spotted a figure sprawled on her right side, lying on the ground. The closer Stella ran toward her, the more she could make out the girl and the fashionable royal threads. The girl's pale, long blond hair was framed around her face, and she was dressed in a_ _bright orange midriff top with black trimming as well as a long bright orange and pale orange skirt with black trimming around the waist, and golden cork wedge sandals. On her head, was a silver headband and crown at the back of her head similar to the design of the Ring of Solaria._

_It was Nathalie's older sister and her look-alike twin, Chelsea, fairy of the moon._

_It was both amazing and odd to see her outside the picture, and was even more shocking to see how much she looked like Stella. She looked the same age as Stella, eighteen, even though it has been over eight hundred years and Stella realized the girl was still frozen in time, looking young since she died young and remaining that way forever, but her fair skin was in a shocking color of sickish green. She looked the way Stella does when she's away from the sunlight for too long: so weak and fragile, looking like she couldn't last any second. _

_"Oh my god, are you okay?" Stella asked as she (with caution) laid Chelsea's head on her lap, propping the weaken fairy as nicely as she could. "You don't look so good. No offense."_

_"None taken," Chelsea managed through her weariness to at least laugh a low chuckle in her throat as she slowly opened her eyes, revealing the beautiful silver shade Stella thought was the most breathtaking shade she has ever seen. "I've felt and looked better before," she smiled weakly. "You look so much like me, we could easily be twins."_

_"But what happened to you?" Stella asked. _

_"Libitina is what happened. When we lost our lives in our battle with the dark angel, our souls were condemned to an eternity of hell inside the Midnight Raven's power, being its' energy supplies and prisoners. Its' energy sucking is like suffering an incredibly slow, painfully brutal death over and over again. You could say we're being sucked dry to the bone. But even though me and the others are so weak, we are nothing compared to poor Luna. She's so weak; she could barely stay awake anymore. But then again, anyone who is sent to that horrible place suffers such horrible pain and weakens instantly. It's so cold and dark. My moon powers have significantly weakened." _

_Chelsea closed her eyes and was beginning to fade away, and Stella immediately panicked. She could feel Chelsea slipping away in her arms and the bond holding their connection starting to break. She shook the moon fairy hard to keep her awake while loudly saying "Chelsea! Come on, this isn't the right time to take a beauty nap. There's an important reason why I contacted you. My friends and I need you and the rest of the descendants' help. Is there any way to stop it?"_

_"You mean the prophecy of Libitina's reincarnation?"_

_"She has a name and it is Flora," Stella said, taking note of how sharp her defensive tone sounded. "Just because she's her reincarnation doesn't mean she's like her. Nathalie says Flora reminds her of Rosalina before all this happened." _

_"And we are all aware of the path Rosalina chosen to go down and her sealed fate."_

_"But isn't there some way to stop the destiny? There has to be a way." Stella said. _

_Chelsea's weak, warm smile returned as she looked up at her look-alike descendant. "You are right to have hope, Stella. That is always a good thing. However, I'm afraid that alone will not be enough to stop the horrible destiny from happening. Your friend's birth was a vow Libitina swore on the night she died. She swore no matter what or no matter what it takes, the spell will be performed and she will rise again. Life and wonderful goodness as you and your friends know it will cease to exist, and only mayhem and darkness will be spread. I am afraid nothing could be done. The prophecy of your friend was absolute and nothing can be done to change that."_

_"I don't believe you! There has to be a way." Stella said. _

_"The prophecy of your friend was absolute and nothing can be done to change that." Chelsea repeated, and then disappeared right before Stella's eyes. _

_"Chelsea! Wait, come back!" Stella cried out for her. "You have to help us! Please!" _

She was stirring in her unconscious trance, trying to reach out for Chelsea and keep the connection bond going. But the signal was getting more faded and faded till the dark place was suddenly brightened with vivid colors so bright, they were blinding her. When Stella finally opened her eyes, she saw she was lying on the ground instead of levi-mediating like she was doing earlier. And was surrounded by everyone in the class looking down at her. "Err...hey there." she smiled sheepishly.

"Stella, are you alright?" Bloom asked her best friend as she grabbed her hand and helped her up.

"A little drain of energy and tired, but nothing a good power nap can't solve," answered Stella. "So now long was I knocked out?"

"For approximately 32.5 minutes." Tecna said.

"I was able to do it, though. I was able to do the spell and it worked," Stella said, then leaned closer to her friends, lowering her voice. "I was able to contact Chelsea. I actually talked to her."

Instantaneously, the girls' eyes widened in shock and amazement.

"Well done, Stella," Professor Palladium praised. "You were successfully able to focus all your Winx into your connection for a good amount of time. I have to admit, you put far more contraction today than you ever did the past four eyes you've been in my class."

Just then the bell rang, signaling sixth period was over and it was time for lunch. The students quickly gathered their things and ran out the door while the Professor called out after them there wasn't any homework, thanks to the great job Stella put into class today.

The Winx girls walked together to the cafeteria, each one lost in her own thoughts. They got their lunch trays, paid for the burgers and fries they were serving for lunch, and sat at their usual table. There seemed to be no talking going on, as the girls took small bites of their food and sips of their drinks, shared a look with one another, and ate in silence.

Bloom finally broke the uncomfortable silence by asking Stella if she really met and talked to her relative.

"Yeah I did," Stella said. "And I can totally see why Nathalie says I remind her too much of Chelsea. Even though her blond hair is a shade or two paler than mine and her eyes are silver while mine are gold hazel, she could still easily pass as my twin sister. Not only so we share the almost-same looks, we also share the same fashion taste. The poor thing managed to look good even though she was sick."

"Sick?" Layla asked. "How bad was she sick?"

"Very bad," Stella confirmed, a frown darkening the excitement in her expression as she told her friends about meeting Chelsea. But the excitement soured as she thought about how weak and fragile the fairy was. "She looked so weak and frail. Her skin was in a sickish green color, and she was barely conscious while we were talking. She looked the same way I do whenever I'm away from the source of my powers for too long."

"You mean when you're too far away from sunlight?" Bloom asked. When Stella nodded, she grew more confused. "But I thought Chelsea had the powers of the moon while Nathalie had sun powers."

Before Stella could explain, Tecna already beat her to it. "That is correct. That means lack of contact with the moonlight is what making her weak. Then again, fairies' lack of contact with their source of powers for a long amount of time plays a big part in their weakness. So, while Chelsea is weak from lack of contact with the moonlight, then Titania must be weak from lack of contact with technology."

"Melody then must be weak from not being around music for so long." Musa said.

"Like Lauren must be weak from being away from the water for such a long time." Layla said.

"Luna then must be weak from not being fire." Bloom said.

"Because their life energies are being used to give the raven more power." Flora concluded, a chilled note of bitterness sharpening the tone of her normally gentle and calm voice. _All thanks to the very person who put them there in the first place_, she thought bitterly, wondering again how Libitina could possibly doom people who use to be her best friends to such a horrible fate.

"Chelsea said that place is like hell-but somehow ten times worse. It's unbelievably, freezing cold and dark. She says everyone is weak to the bone and can barely move without feeling pain, but none of them can even compare to how Luna is pulling through." Stella said.

"You mean you actually saw her there, too?" Bloom asked.

"No," Stella shook her head. "But Chelsea did tell me how Luna is so weak; she could barely move or stay conscious longer than five seconds."

"I don't get it," Layla confessed, confused by what she heard. "Luna has the Dragon Fire, a pretty powerful power. So shouldn't that help her be a bit stronger?"

"On the contrary, her having that power while she is trapped inside the raven is doing her extreme harm." Tecna stated. When the others looked at her questioningly, she went further to explain her statement. "Remember how it said in the book, the Midnight Raven was created by three powerful energy sources. A convergence combination of the sinister seven's dark powers, an amber dipped in the Devil's power source, and another amber dipped in the opposite force of the Dragon Fire."

"Which can be activated when it comes into contact with Dragon Fire energy and destroy the thing or person that has the energy." Bloom said, quickly figuring out the rest when Tecna started to explain. The opposite force was contained in water stars, which Baltor was able to take control of for a brief moment and fired a blast at her and her friends. She remembered how painful the blast was as it hit her right in the chest, sending shocks of pain through her body and weakening her powers.

That effect happened only once with a blast, followed by two others after that. Bloom couldn't imagine how Luna could bear over eight hundred years of it's' torment.

"If that's the case, then it's no wonder Luna is weak. The raven is sucking all the power and energy, weakening them significantly. Including the boys' strength and Simba's own powers. It's especially affecting Luna because she possesses the power of the Dragon Fire." Flora said, taking a bit of her burger, and using a napkin to wipe off the ketchup off the corners of her lips.

"There has to be some way to free them all from the raven," Bloom said silently, her face serious and deep in thought. "Like a spell or something."

"Unfortunately, B, there isn't," Musa replied sadly. "Nathalie spent most of those years trying to find a way to free her sister and the others from there, but nothing worked. There's only one way in, no way out."

"When you made contact with her, did you ask about the prophecy?" Flora asked Stella.

"I did," She nodded with a sigh. "And unfortunately, there was nothing she could offer for us to stop it. She said it was a good thing we have hope and hope is a good thing to have. Even when things are looking hopeless. But having hope now is not going to help us now."

She repeated to her friends what Chelsea had told her.

"Well, we still can't just give up you guys. We'll find some way to stop this from happening. I promise," Bloom promised. "Stella was able to make contact with Chelsea, which is very good thing. Maybe that means we can also make contact with all the descendants if we perform the spell together and have the guys help us."

The others nodded and murmured words of agreement under their breath. The remaining minutes of lunch was stiff and quiet from the disappointment, but one surprisingly, bubbly comment from Tecna, who never struck as bubbly, had the table of friends burst into loud laughter. Laughter which was so loud, the other girls sitting at the nearby tables turned their heads over to them, wondering what the heck was going on. But just because people were staring at them didn't stop them from laughing. Pretty soon, they were talking and laughing like they always do.

Just when lunch was about to end, Layla poked Flora in the ribs and then pointed out the window. "Hey Flora, boy alert!"

Flora's cheeks were warm as boiling water and blushed a bright red shade, but a smile spread across her face when she locked eyes with Helia, who was standing outside and waving at her with a smile lighting up his face.

Stella's golden eyes chilled a bit and narrowed as she glanced back and forth between smiling Helia and lovey-dovey, grinning Flora. "So unbelievable how Helia still manages to visit Flora even though Red Fountain is supposedly training them like crazy while I haven't seen Brandon in days."

"Don't even start with that, Stella," Bloom said. "He did call you last week."

"Yeah, for, like, a three-minute chat. He should get it by now I am not the kind of girlfriend you don't check up on once in awhile. Never have been, never will be, don't wanna be." Stella said with a smug smile.

Flora excused herself from the table and quickly ran out the door to meet Helia outside, only becoming shy when she was face to face with him. She managed to overcome her shyness and jump into his open arms, hugging him tightly. "Hi Helia." she said.

He hugged her back and pecked her cheek as she pulled away from the hug, but was still close to him. "Hello Flora."

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Just came to see my favorite rose, which always brightens my day." He caressed her cheek gently, and slowly pressed his lips against hers; making everything else around them slow down into nothingness until the only thing she was focusing on and was aware of the soft touch and shape of his lips, and the indescribable sensation sparking between them. She smiled in the kiss as she wrapped her arms around his neck and he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

The moment was so sweet and romantic, and possibly would have gone on forever if a certain someone didn't ruin the moment by coughing loudly, which made the couple break away from their kiss and made their faces blush deep red.

"You know," said Nathalie, who was on her way to Gloomy forest, where she was going to teach her class, but stopped to witness the little love moment going on. Instead of her usual dark frown or/and scowl she has been wearing since she first got here, there was a teasing smirk on her face. "You two should be thanking your lucky stars right now that I'm the one breaking up this little love fest instead of Ms. Griselda. And we all know how much she loves seeing young love happening on school grounds."

"Nathalie, hi there," Flora stuttered. "Helia was just-"

"Leaving, I can presume." she interrupted, raising one eyebrow.

"Err...right." Helia really didn't want to leave Flora after paying what felt like a ten second visit, but it would be definitely awkward and strange to talk more to her with a teacher hovering over them. He quickly kissed Flora's cheek, they said their goodbyes, and then left.

"You know you could have waited a few more minutes." Flora told her.

"True, I could have. But I'm the teacher, deary. It's in my job description to ruin my students' fun, which is fun for me." Nathalie replied.

Flora helped Nathalie carry some of the supplies she brought along with her for the first day of her class with the Alfea students, and on the way, the two were able to have to civil conversation without Nathalie acting cold or giving Flora dark glares, but had some laughs and smiles. Even though Nathalie will _never_, ever forgive or forget all the horrible things that happened in the past caused by Libitina's treachery, she was no longer going to hold a grudge against Flora, who has been nothing but sweet to her, and wanted them to start out fresh. After all, it wasn't the poor girl's fault she was born into this horrible mess.

When the other students met up at Gloomy Forest for the class and Flora met up with her friends, Nathalie called them to order by blowing a loud, ear-scattering whistle that immediately quieted them down. "Good afternoon, girls. Now, I know some of you are tired from all your other classes and want to go back to your rooms to take a nap-" she began.

"Ahem to that!" Stella exclaimed which got the whole class laughing.

"However," Nathalie continued, giving Stella a smug look for acting like a wise guy. "I know you survive doing a few more classes. I already know all your names since I've been at this school for awhile, getting to know each one of you. But I'm going to re-introduce myself, so you can remember my name, which isn't that hard of a name to remember. My name is Nathalie Shine, I came from the realm of Solaria and my powers come from the sun, and I will be teaching this class. Each of you is unique. You all came from different realms and have different sources of powers. Let me assure you girls, no matter what source your powers are, they are all equally powerful and strong. It all depends on how you wish to use them."

A slender girl with short ginger hair raised her hand to ask a question, and Nathalie called on her. "So, what exactly are we going to be doing in this class?"

"You can this class will be a cross between combat practice and power-searching exercise. It is good that you girls learn fighting skills when cornered by a foe, but it is also good you know the true key of your powers. To do that, you will need to discover and uncover your hidden self." Nathalie answered.

"Wait a minute!" said another senior who looked like she belonged to Cloud Tower with her dark, edgy Goth look, but was actually pretty sweet underneath her dark makeup. "Are you saying there's a side of ourselves we don't know about?"

"Well, don't you girls feel that way sometimes?"

"Actually, the more I think about it, the more I realize that I do sometimes feel like there's a secret side of me I never met before." Layla confessed.

"Everyone has a side they know of and another side they don't know of," Nathalie told them. "Once you unlock that secret side, you will be able to open a door of new magical possibilities. You are already strong, but discovering this hidden self will open a brand new door for your powers and make you much stronger than before or you can ever imagine. That's something I can teach you, but in the end, it will all be up to you if you chose to open that door or not. The first thing you need to do to achieve this goal is letting go of fear and having total belief in yourself."

"Now, for today, we're going to be starting off with combat practice. I'm going to observe your powers and fighting skills. Each of you will break into pairs, and then you and your partner will fight it out for the class. You will be using only one spell, one of your most powerful spells you believe will help you win, and you may also use a shield to protect yourself. But only for a short time, because I don't want you wasting time hiding behind a shield. Also I don't want any of you to take it to en extreme and actually hurt your classmate. Just bring her down-nothing more than that. Do I make myself clear?"

"Clear." They all replied.

After a few minutes, everyone was paired up with either her best friend or someone who they thought would be fun to take down. Bloom was paired with Stella, Musa with Layla, and Flora with Tecna. While the girls were all set and ready to go, Nathalie walked around the different groups, talking to the girls and answering some of the questions they had for her.

And when the fighting started, she could see most of the class was determined not to lose and win the practice match. After all, no one likes to lose. She saw most students already knew their way around defense systems and were every resourceful with their magic while there were some who still needed help and time to adjust to that. Despite the warning she gave them, a few groups took their spells to the extreme and nearly caused a huge explosion.

"Alright then," Nathalie said, sending two very competitive students who took it way too serious and were close to killing each other to Ms. Griselda. "Bloom, Stella, you're up."

After they transformed into their beautiful and powerful Enchantix form, they stood at the clearing area where the others pairs took their fights and flew up into the air, facing each other with firm smirks on their faces.

"You promise Stella, you're not going to flip out if I knock you to the ground?" Bloom asked.

"Doll, as long you don't ruin my outfit and mess up my hair, we're good," Stella answered. "And you have to promise the same thing, too. Check out my new spell."

Bloom had expected a sun spell since Stella always show more sun than moon in her spells, but was slightly surprised to see over a dozen, beautiful silver stars swirling mid-air in a circle around Stella.

Stella smirked at Bloom's surprised face, and pointed her stars to the target. "Star duel bullets."

The stars stopped spinning and glowed in a blinding light as sharp edges grew on their tips, and flashing like lightening and going as quick as a bullet, they rushed straight for Bloom, shooting bolts of combined sun and moon energy as they were coming for her. Bloom quickly put up a fire barrier bubble, which deflected off the energy beams but the stars were pounding hard against the barrier like a steel fist pounding through a wall, trying to break through.

"Very efficient." Tecna said, sounding very impressed.

"Thanks Tec." Stella smiled while she was contracting all of her magic into the stars, willing them to shoot stronger beams and hurled themselves harder against Bloom's shield. If it wasn't for Nathalie's rules, she would have aimed a sun blast spell that would easily break it, but she was going to have to settle with the stars.

Bloom wasn't sure how much long she would be able to keep the barrier up, but could feel it was weakening. She remembered Nathalie's rules and knew she couldn't waste time standing behind her barrier, so it was time for her to pick up a powerful spell she knew and use it now.

She inhaled a deep, big breath, holding it in for what felt like a century, but as she slowly opened her mouth, steams of smoke escaped her lips and a sound fierce as a dragon erupted, starling everyone by the loud noise. As she opened her mouth and let out her breath, growling like a fierce dragon, a vicious flame dripped from her lips and moved fluidly as a snake as it danced around the stars, burning them to crisps, and exploded into a huge burst as it hurled against Stella, sending the sun and moon fairy craning hard through the ground.

"Well, done you two. Very well done," Nathalie nodded her head in approval. "Stella, even though you didn't win, you still put up a good defense. And Bloom, very good spell. What do you call it?"

Bloom froze for a second, rubbing her head while smiling sheepishly. "It was just something I came up with. I don't really have a name for it."

"Maybe you should call it growl of the dragon," Stella suggested as Bloom helped her up, and they both powered down. "Or breathe of fire."

"Maybe." Bloom replied with a smile.

After those two, Flora and Tecna were up next and this was an interesting match everyone wanted to pay attention to because nature and technology were an odd pairing. But just as they were about to hit, Tecna pointed to the sky when she noticed something happening.

Grays clouds were beginning to gather in the sky, which meant a storm was coming. To strengthen that predication, a loud clap of thunder rumbled in the sky as the wind was starting to blow hard.

"What's happening?" yelled one student, frightened.

"I'll tell you what's happening, pixie," said Stormy, looking every bit as evil and nasty as the girls remembered. "A change in the weather. For today's forecast, the weather goes from being sunny to 110% stormy."

"I demand you leave here at once!" Nathalie demanded.

"Yeah, or else what?" Darcy asked, standing next to Stormy. "You'll give us detention?"

"And this weather is not only going to stormy, it's also going to icy," Icy popped in between her sisters, taking her rightful place in the center of the Trix witches with her hands placed on her lips and a cold smile spreading across her face.

"You three!" Bloom said through clenched teeth.

"Is it me or do these witches always crawl up like nasty cockroaches?" Layla asked.

"You fashion victims are suppose to be at White Rock." Stella said.

"Yeah, but it was so boring there," Stormy started.

"We decided it would be much more fun crashing a pixie class." Darcy finished.

"Tell me what you losers think about this spell," Icy said, raising her hands to the air. "Ice crystals."

As she rose her hands over her head, a thick sheet of ice as wide as the great ocean appeared in the sky, and as Icy brought her hands down, the thick sheet broken up into huge, million sharp-pointed crystals huge as mini vans and were firing at the fairies. Some girls screamed in terror as they ran away while some stayed behind to blast the ice with power beams, all trying to avoid getting hit by the painful ice.

"Boy, do I love watching pixies running away and screaming. It just warms my old, cold heart." Icy laughed.

Musa and Tecna did a combination barrier spell that was strong enough to defend itself from the pricks of the ice crystals and kept them and the others safe for awhile. Tecna got out her handheld and was doing an energy scan on the witches, which power readings showed was extremely higher than usual, then quickly zooming in on vision when she noticed something particularly interesting on the back of their necks.

"What are you doing, Tecna?" Flora asked.

"I'm scanning the energy readings of the witches' dark powers, which readings show is extremely higher than usual. But there is something interesting I want you guys to see." The girls gathered around Tecna and leaned in close to see what she was showing them on her handheld. "Does this look familiar?"

She zoomed in closer to the witches' neck, showing them the bright-colored, glowing sinister S marks.

The girls knew the only person who could create the raven's mark.

"Alaric!" They all said in unison while Nathalie scowled and growling in anger as she thought about the man who makes her blood boil madly in anger.

"You know, I always thought my name sounded so much sweeter and better when beautiful girls are the ones saying them." He stepped into the scene, like an actor commanding the stage, walking a bit too confident for his own good and his infamous, predacious and malicious smile curling the corners of his lips. "But then again, my name is such a sweet one, don't you think?"

The girls' classmates all ran forward, prepared to take him down. But Alaric simply lifted his hands up high, and the next thing, they knew, the classmates were all frozen in a block of ice, looking both shocked by the sudden move and afraid. The Winx weren't sure how, neither were the witches for that matter, but somehow Alaric also has some of Icy's ice power.

"You evil, malicious, no good, son of a-" Alaric rolled his eyes at Nathalie's venomous words, and flicked his left hand toward her, flicking a black jelly-like goo that was smacked against her lips and held them together like super-strong glue. Nathalie tried to pull the disgusting thing, which felt so cold and slimy against her mouth, but each time she touched it, the goo would zapped her hard with sharp electrify zap and was impossible to pull off.

"Finally, you shut that bitch up." Stormy said.

"It was something I should have done a long time ago. It would have made things so much easier for my sake. I have no idea how her sister was able to put up her for so long," Alaric smiled, delighted, as he watched Nathalie struggling to rip his gag off her mouth, and then looked into the scowled faces of the Winx girls and the slightly frightened but very angry gleam in his favorite rose's eyes. "It sometimes baffles me how much you girls look so much like your ancestors, but it's so sad that you'll end up sharing their same fate. Losing to me and Libitina, getting destroyed, and your souls being damned to a life sentence of imprisonment inside the Raven's power for all eternity."

He and the witches attacked together, firing powerful blasts, which the girls quickly jumped back to avoid getting hit. They all stared at the villains with hate and anger in their eyes, knowing only one thing to do in a situation like this: fight, kick their butts, send the witches back to White Rock and send Alaric packing.

"I say it's time we take these baddies down." Musa said.

"Let's do it!" They cried, and transformed into beautiful and strong Enchantix form, and flew up to the witches.

"As much as I love taking you Winx losers down, we're on a tight schedule." Icy said.

"That's right; we're here for only one fairy. We're not going to leave until we bring her back, and she's going to come with us one way or the other." Stormy said. The madman and his three witches all looked up at Flora with huge smirks on their faces.

"Well, that is not going to happen," Flora said, blowing a green pollen spell, which exploded into Alaric's face, knocking him down. Before she could pull off another spell, Alaric jumped high in the air and lunged toward Flora, grabbing her by the shoulders and bringing her down to the ground with him.

"Flora!" Her friends cried concerned.

"I wouldn't worry so much about your friends, pixies," Icy said. "I would worry more about yourselves because when we're done with you, you're going to be begging for mercy."

"I suggest you knock yourself out unconscious then, because the only way that is ever going to happen is in your dreams, you stinking tramp" Musa said. "Sonic boom!"

"Solar eclipse explosion!"

"Digital shockwave!"

"Tidal whirlwind!"

"Full dragon energy!"

Anger from the way the witches brought harm to them and their class, all the horrible stuff that they had done in the past, and all the problems that happened since Alaric came into the picture increased the power of the spells, and hit the witches ten times harder than usual and sent them hurling down to the ground.

"_That's it!_" Icy yelled in anger, which caused ice to form around the whole forest, coating it with a thick ice sheet. "You little bitches are history!"

"We'll see about that!" Tecna snapped.

"Leave Icy to me, girls," Bloom said. "One way or another, I'm going to end this thing between us. Tecna and Stella, you take on Darcy. Musa and Layla, you two can handle Stormy!"

The girls nodded, and went after their witch while Bloom was too busy firing fireballs at Icy, who managed to dodge a few and fired some ice spells at Bloom.

"You're right about one thing, Bloom. This little thing between us has been going on for too long, which is soon going to be put an end to. And the one who is going to be putting an end to things is me by finally destroying you!" Icy fired a strong ice whirlwind, blew Bloom away and covered her feet and hands in ice, which was impossible to break free from and leaving her practically helpless.

Meanwhile with Flora, she was slowly getting back on her feet after recovering from Alaric's surprise tackle attack, which brought them both down hard to the ground, and glared angrily at his smirking face as he walked around her in a circle.

"I hope I didn't hurt you too hard. Are you alright?" He asked, sounding both smug and concerned.

Flora ignored his questions and asked a few of her own. "Why are you here? Why are you doing this? Why did you bring them?" She pointed her finger at the witches.

He stopped walking when he was in front of her, turning more fully toward her so he was facing her face-to-face. "To answer question one, because I was wanted to see my beautiful rose again," He was about to touch her cheek again, but when her eyes flashing cold and mad with anger, he saw lots of throne vines spreading across him, growing tall, and were close to being pressed against his skin. To avoid getting hit again by thrones, he decided to leave it alone. "To answer question two, because I want to take you back with me. To answer question three, because I needed their help to distract your meddling friends, who always seem to get in my way every time I try to get near you. But as you can see my witches are taking care of that little problem."

He gestured his hand toward the witches again, and Flora looked in horror to see Tecna and Stella being blinded by Darcy's memorizer and caught in her clouds of darkness; Musa and Layla trying to fight their way out of Stormy's cyclone spin while the witch was laughing madly each spin she turned; and Bloom was being hurled hard against the ground, her feet and hands caught in ice blocks, looking weary and weak while Icy was hovering over her and levitating the huge ice crystals which were more than big and strong to do more than just hurt a defenseless fairy. As the ice witch brought her hands down, the crystals were loose and quickly about to fly on Bloom.

"Bloom!" Flora quickly flew after her, to get Icy and save her. "Hang on. I'm coming!"

Being the pest she was more than getting annoyed with and proving to be more of a pain than the last time they met, Alaric appeared in a flash and outstretched his hands, blocking her path.

"Not so fast, my dear. I'll be the only one who you dance with tonight," Alaric smirked. "And your little friend is finished."

_That tears it!_ She has had more than enough of Alaric, who has been stalking her, tormenting her and her friends, ruining things for them and bringing pain whenever he goes. He's been twisted into her mind, and she wanted him out. He was in her dreams, which she needed to put an end to. Whatever she thought of besides disgust and pity for the demon standing in front of her was immediately out the door as she felt insanely strong, unbelievable anger rushing through her body and getting higher and higher, like boiling lava rising to the top of an erupting volcano.

"Get out of my way!" That familiar jolt, which she realized was the raven's spirit, was being finally awakened after its' long sleep and brief awakening, was sinking deep into her veins, consuming her as it was practically turning her inside out, and becoming one with her like it did with her over eight hundred years ago.

Alaric was starting to become less cocky and more frightened as Flora was glowing with midnight black light as if a bright yet dark light was glowing inside her, gleaming brightly in her heart, intense and blackened flames were dancing around her body that was starting to be scripted with the sinister Raven's marks, swirling madly and quickly around her like lightening flashes, protecting her like a cocoon, and her hair was flowing madly.

Flora was curved up into a ball, taking her time to take in all the intense power flowing uncontrollably inside her, feeling the raven becoming one with her. Slowly standing up tall, Flora threw her head back and let out a sound high-pitched like the raven's shriek, as her dark powers emerged into one big attack explosion. The explosion was similar to Bloom's when she was in her dragon fury, but millions of times stronger and powerful. Once erupted, it was mightier than all the volcanoes in the world exploding at once and powerful than anything ever seen before. It not only knocked Alaric and the witches hard out of the sky, but also overshadowed his and the witches' spells that sent everyone free but also knocked them harder than anything they had ever felt before. The explosion sent strong energy waves vibrating through the forest, reaching beyond Magix where every single person was hurled hard against something as they felt the touch of something incredibly dark and cold lingering in the air.

The girls slowly got on their feet, moving through the pain and throbbing in each of their heads while the witches were too much in pain to move a single muscle as Alaric managed to get back up on his own two feet. But all their eyes were widened in shock, their mouths dropped wide, as they stared at one figure that was the only one left flying in the air, glaring down at them.

"Flora?" Layla mumbled.

"Libitina?" Alaric murmured in disbelief. "Is that really you?"

The only response that person gave them was a cold, dark smile that was bathed with suck wickedness and bone-chilling as her crimson red eyes, which matched the shade of the sinister mark blazed on her forehead.

**First me would like to thank all the cool people I met on fanfiction who took time to read and review my story. You know who you are, and I just wanna say you guys rock! I hope you know that, because you really do. So what do you think of this chapter, and what do you think will happen next? I decided to add the witches because it really wouldn't be a winx story without those three coming in and causing trouble. **

**Give me some suggestions what should happen next. Alright, peace be with you all ;)**


	10. Chapter 10

This moment was so similar to what happened a few days ago when the girls went to Magix and then got attacked by those shadow beings. Only this time, they could really the difference in Flora.

For one thing, she wasn't even in her Enchantix outfit anymore. Instead she was dressed in a red petal-themed sleeveless, midriff-bearing top, black petal-shaped skirt with a red string tying in its' place and red frills underneath, black and red beaded wristbands wore on her wrists and black leather platform ankle-length boots. Her hair was free and flowing down but took on a darker shade of brown and sporting red highlights with a pair of buns tied with black bows on top of her head. Her eye makeup was done in a smoky style, giving her red eyes more edge, with black mascara and eye shadow caked around them, and her lips painted in a glossy rose red color.

As she flew down to the ground, her red eyes were fixed on her surroundings and quickly darted everything in sight, barely taking glances at the school girls or Nathalie who was staring wide-eyed or the witches who were speechless to say a word. She slowly looked at her friends, whose expression were not fear but disbelief shock, and finally glared at Alaric.

Unlike previous times when the marks were on her skin and she would quickly hide them, she flaunted them. Showed them off proudly. Each letter, scripted in bright yet dark red that matched the shade of blood, glowed more brightly with each faint pulse surging through.

"Roses are red, violets are blue, time to show you witches what I can really do." Her voice still held the sweet and light tone her friends recognize, but there was something underneath it. Something sweet, but only sweetly cold and malicious, sounding extremely dark.

The Winx girls were flabbergasted to see the witches-the same ones who always were so smug and full of themselves-shaking like scared little girls and looking like timid mice looking into the eyes of a deadly cobra snake, who was relishing in their fear. Their fear made the gleam of dark amusement twinkle brightly in Flora's eyes, making them glow even brighter.

Seeing the fear in the witches' eyes didn't make her smile widen into a grin, but instead made it fade slowly and slowly till her face was expressionless. Flora took one last look at them, her eyes now looking less amused and more bored, and held up two fingers before she crossed them and brought them down.

The moment she did that, the witches were pushed back down hard. They were scrawled on their backs, obvious suffering tremendous pain by the way their bodies were shaking uncontrolled as if they had developed a will on their own, their mouths opened wide to let out loud, pain-filled wail and screams that were getting higher and higher, their eyes tightly shut in pain.

As much as they girls really hated those witches, seeing them in pain wasn't something they entirely wished for or enjoyed to see.

"What's happening to them?" Layla asked, unsure whether she should be scared or amazed by what she was seeing.

"Metal pain is what's happening to them," Nathalie answered. The outburst from the explosion of the raven's power was able to make Alaric's goo gag disappear from her mouth, so she was able to talk again. Only she wasn't running her mouth on Alaric like she planned to do earlier, she was silenced with shock like the others were by what happened to the girl.

"Mental pain?" Bloom echoed.

"It's something you are able to do with a spell, but only for a limited amount of time and take up a lot of energy. But it's something, an affect feature, that comes with the Midnight Raven since it mostly deals with the metal mind, and something Libitina became a master of," She explained. "Using her hands or looking at someone, she can make one suffer such horrible pain and cane make them suffer it for as long as she wishes."

A flash ran through Bloom's mind of Flora acting strangely back at Magix and how she destroyed each creature easily without any trouble at all. When it was down to the last one, she levitated him with her mind and slowly balled her hand into a fist, making the monster scream loudly until her hand was finally in a tight fist and the monster was screaming its' heart out from the very pain.

_So it wasn't a dark spell controlling her_, Bloom thought. _It was really Libitina's spirit taking part of the action. Does that mean she's the one in control now?_

As if Musa was reading her mind, she asked "Does that mean Libitina is the one in control?"

"I don't know." Nathalie admitted.

The witches' screaming was impossibly getting louder and louder, each screams more ear-scattering than the last. At first it was pleasing her, but now it was getting old and quickly boring her. Stretching out her hand, Flora sealed them inside a sound-proof barrier and whisked her hand to the right, tossing the witches against a huge pile of rocks. Now that one problem was solved, it was time to focus on the other.

Flora slowly turned her head away from where she tossed the witches back to Alaric, her eyes never letting him out of their sight for a second. She placed her hands on her hips, her expression unreadable along with her eyes, as she walked slowly toward him.

For once, since the girls have seen him, Alaric was completely, entirely speechless. No smart comments or wise-cracks coming from his mouth, nor was there dark amusement in his eyes or a cold smile/ smirk on his face. Alaric was dazed with tremendous shock, and there was a feeling the girls have never seen before in his eyes that wasn't cold or evil. It looked warm...almost like love.

"You always love such grand appearances and always in the mood for a finale," Flora said, arching her left eyebrow while her eyes were fixed on cold. "In fact, if memory serves me well, you always love things to be so drastic and dramatic. But you should realize, Alaric, when you keep pushing and pushing a girl, then things...only tends to go bad from there."

Through his roller coaster of emotions going up and down inside of him, Alaric was trying to figure out who was acting the host inside the girl standing before him. That explosion, the eruption of incredibly power which obviously came from the raven's power was the strongest he has ever seen it. He already was aware of the girl starting to get use to that fact she was born with another power and used it once before (not including the time she used it to beat him-badly when he entered her dream), but there was only one person he knew who used it to its' full potential.

She seemed like Libitina, at first liking the attention being handed to her and enjoying seeing fear she could sense but then getting quickly bored and un-amused. One of the things he liked about her was the fact she was very difficult to please. She was like a spoiled little girl who wants something impatiently, but then quickly becoming bored when its' in her possess. He remembered how often he had problems finding her something that would hold her interest and hold it for more than a few moments, but helping her get the raven power was the one gift he gave her that she loved continually.

Like an aura shifting; he could feel it. It was like something inside was being transferred back and forth, between left and right. But the more he thought about it, the more he was slowly starting to understand and finally the answer came to him. It was a shift between good and bad energy, between the two girls' spirits.

Alaric held out his hand and she accepted it, and he drew small circles on her soft skin without taking his eyes off her. He pulled her gently, tugging her toward him, and placed both hands against her bare waist with slight hesitation, gently rubbing them up and down as she looked down at him with expressionless eyes and he was relishing the feel of her soft skin.

She kneeled in front of him and placed her hand against his cheek, gently caressing. Slowly, a smile blossomed on her reddened lips, spreading across her face.

Alaric placed his hand over hers that was caressing his cheek, closing his eyes for a moment to deeply inhale her sweet scent. He opened them again and gazed deeply into her eyes, into the pool of frightening yet utterly beautiful crimson red, seeing how close she was to him. Close enough for him to kiss her.

"Libitina?" he murmured in disbelief. "Is it really you?"

She smiled softly and sweetly at him, then gently traced his lips with her finger.

"It is you, isn't it?" Excitement crept into his tone, sparking light in his eyes.

She moved closer to him, as if it was even possible and teasing him by the closest of her sweet lips and cool breath hanging from her tongue. She kept caressing his cheek and brushing his lips with that soft, sweet as an angel smile on her face. "Alaric," she whispered into his ear. "You couldn't be anymore wrong about that."

She had the great pleasure to watch the love-sick, hopeful joy look on his face quickly fell into absolute shock and dismay laced with baffled anger. He tried opening his mouth, but words didn't come out. That didn't seem to matter anymore because the look itself was so priceless and worth more than hundred billon words.

Suddenly Alaric was caught off guard by Flora slowly placing her hand on his chest and sent him flying. She barely even touched him with a small tap that was as light as a feather, and yet the touch was extremely strong enough to send him crashing headfirst through several, strong oak tress and a huge boulder rock. His body was sporting new fresh cuts and bruises from his crash, his head was suffering actual pain-very bad pain-from the blows it received through the trees and rocks, and there was blood leaking from both sides of his forehead and spilling down his cheeks.

"Dang!" Stella exclaimed while the others were too shocked to even talk, shocked by Flora's newfound strength. "Whatever the hell are in those organic protein bars she eats, I outta have some of them. Cause they seem to be giving her a huge kick."

With a cold smile erasing all the soft sweetness of her previous smiles and chilling her features as it spread across her face, Flora glided toward a pain-stricken Alaric. But her smile soon vanished when she realized there was really nothing to smile. What was there to smile about someone so pathetic, it ought to be considered sad. "What's the matter, Alaric?" she demanded, hands on her hips, eyes narrowed with one eyebrow arched. "Isn't pain something that gives you joy?"

"Correction: I only like it when I'm the one causing it. I really hate it when things get twisted up, and are the other way around," He corrected, and then cocked his head to one side, still sensing the aura energy shifting inside the girl, which means she was trying hard to beat out his queen so she can have full control. "So I was right all along. The raven's power grew stronger in the last few years, and that's all thanks to your anger and the fact you still carry the same qualities you had in your former life as Libitina. Great potential and ravishing beauty to go with it. Very nice outfit, by the way."

"Cut the crap!" she demanded angrily, making her friends stare at her wide-eyed and wondering if they were hearing things right because before this day they had never heard foul words come from Flora's mouth. They didn't know she knew any. "I told you over and over again to leave them out of this."

"How adorable." He smirked, his pain forgotten. "You want to protect your friends. But I'm afraid the only thing you are doing is delaying their pain-"

His words were cut off as she raised her left hand, which was glowing in a black flame-like energy, and his whole body was suddenly covered with a blanket of dark shadows, circling and hanging tightly onto his body like a second skin. Without any hesitation, the keeper of the Midnight Raven threw Alaric far off to the other side of the huge forest, which was the south-eastern side. He was thrown even hard against a huge boulder of rocks, crashing headfirst against it.

Groaning and grunting, Alaric shook his head to get rid of the throbbing pain. His body was immediately its' magic to repair itself, but there was more far too much serious injuries on him than it was usually use to, so it was taking slower than usual. He struggled to get back on his feet, falling back down a few times when he lost his balance. But when he finally got up, he met Flora's cold, expressionless red eyes which made him wonder for a moment if it was Libitina, but that possibility was put aside when he saw massive anger flashing wildly in them. He grunted in frustration with some anger of his own.

"You look angry, Alaric," Flora cocked her head to one side as she took small steps toward him. "What's the matter? Aren't you gonna fight back? Don't you like it when the tables have turned in your little game and your plaything has an actual backbone?"

He made no comment, only straightening himself up as he casted his eyes slowly away from her. Except she wasn't prepared to let it go, and was going to push him even harder. "What's wrong? Why don't you fight back? I know how much you hate it when things get reversed and you end up being the one getting hurt."

Flora pulled him by the chin roughly, and made him look her straight in the eyes. "That would put such a damper in the plans, wouldn't it? But it's not only the prophecy that keeps me protected from getting hurt by you. You were in love with Libitina, wanting nothing but to anything for her with no questions asked, and because I'm her reincarnation, that love still goes on."

Alaric didn't make a sound and only looked at her, his eyes looking and down and studying her closely. He took one step forward, placed his behind her head, and pressed his lips against hers.

Unexpected, random, all of the sudden and out of the blue while she was caught off guard.

That's how the kiss happened, and Flora felt a tender pressure of Alaric's lips as they were pressed against her, taking her in, tasting her. Helia's kisses were so soft and passionate and perfect that she would always want more, but it was strange to describe Alaric's kiss because it was both almost the same but also completely different. Alaric seemed as if he had practice before kissing thousands of girls, making it perfection as he kissed her. Delivered with such perfection and so hot like a single fire was lit inside her heart, bursting into an outburst that pulsed all throughout her body.

This is not at all what she expected to happen, and she couldn't believe it was actually happening right now and she was allowing it. She had to pull away, she needed to pull away and yet she couldn't.

A part, which was a whole other half of her that felt so much like the jolt running through her, was instantly swept into the kiss. Relishing in the hot spark of his lips that trembled her soul, and didn't want it to ever end. That part of her, the other half so dark and loving this moment so much, was taking control of her that moment, having her weave her fingers through his soft hair as she moved closer to him, responding to the kiss starting to really heat up.

Beneath her lips, she could feel Alaric smiling genuinely. He cradled her face in one hand as he wrapped the other to pull her closer to him and gently rub her back up and down. He sucked on her bottom lip, as if it was made of something sweet, and bit on it, slipping his tongue through her open lips. He used that tongue to explore the sweetness of her mouth, which was ten times sweeter than anything delicious in the whole dimension had to offer and even more magnificent than he remembered.

Flora moaned as she brushed her tongue against his, feeling another explosion of fiery sparks go off inside her. The kiss was so intense, so passionate, so sweet, and so perfect. So, why she couldn't she shake the strange feeling something was very, very wrong about what she was doing?

She couldn't put her finger on it, but there was definitely wrong about this. It was as if someone was hovering in the back of her mind, continually flowing around her head to remind her that this kiss was so wrong.

Her mind showed her the reason why by picturing it. Of his midnight, waist-length hair set in a loose ponytail resting on his shoulder while loose strands were flowing in the gentle breeze; those beautiful greenish-blue eyes melting her heart each time as they gazed at her with passion inside; body tall and lean-not to mention firm and well-built without being overly over-muscular-and always giving off such a mysterious aura pulling her towards him; his kisses so sweet and passionate, which always makes her speechless each time their lips are connected together in a passionate lock and making her heart race as they departure; the first boy who ever made her feel so alive and beautiful, practically loving everything she did and was like her other half. Always so sweet and kind, willing to protect her at any cost and was always protected her.

Julio. No, not Julio.

Helia.

_No, this is wrong!_ She thought as common sense finally was pounding into her.

'_What's so wrong knowing you have two suitors who are completely in love with you wrapped around your little finger?'_ said a sweetly dark voice. _'Seems quite fun and entertaining. Trust me, I know. _

Flora finally freed herself from Alaric's grip, taking several minutes to take deep breaths and pull herself get together through her unbelievable moment. Alaric was watching her with a smile of triumph and cold cruelty smiling in his eyes.

Cold cruelty that haunted her thoughts and invaded her dreams since all this started, bringing harm whenever he goes and bringing her friends along for the horrific ride. He was one the main reason Rosalina changed, because along with the raven power feeding her its' own power, he twisted her into someone no one even recognizes anymore. He wouldn't hesitate to eliminate certain things or people that cross his path in getting what he wants, determined to get it no matter what in the aftermath, and was simply evil through and through.

She took one step backwards, lifted one hand up, and, without warning or hesitation, Flora swiftly slapped him across the face. It seemed hard and strong because she put all her might and her whole body into that slap, and actually whipped his head to one side. Her handprint was bright red on his pale cheek, clearly swollen, and Alaric rubbed it tenderly.

"How dare you!" Flora exploded. She wasn't just mad, she was _furious_! Extremely, unbelievably furious with three certain people she couldn't tell which she should be most infuriated with: Alaric for kissing her when he already knows her heart was with someone else she cared about most in the world; Libitina for taking control of the moment and making her respond to the kiss, adding more tension to the situation; or at herself for not being strong enough to fight off Libitina that time, practically allowing her to take control and responding to that kiss which was such a huge mistake when she really should have slapped him across the face before he even tried it.

"I simply thought-" She didn't let him finish sentence because she was simply too enraged to even listen to him, so she slapped him twice as hard on the other cheek, which smacked his head right to the other side. The swollen right cheek seemed even more vivid than the recent one.

Flora was prepared to hit him a third time since slapping the heck out of him seemed to be the only thing that can make this situation any less badly, her hand lashed out and ready to slap harder than the last time. That plan came to an instant stop as she felt something lingering inside, something cold and dark with a black shelf of a heart, pounding hard against her head and struggling to break free by mentally bashing her skull.

"Libitina." She murmured as she was hunched over in pain, her hands practically squeezing her head to numb the pain.

'_What's the matter, Flora? Didn't you enjoy that kiss?'_ the dark queen then chuckled, amused. '_Hot and passionate, wasn't it? I still remember back then when I would try to compare both boys' kisses and try to see if there was a difference in the kiss. But even though I didn't, it was still fun having to play with both of them. Besides I thought that kiss might help jog some memories on the sweet days being on the dark side._'

_Well, I want you to stop!_ Flora demanded, yelling that demand loudly in her head while trying to fight off the pain. _If you think you can break free and control me like some kind of puppet, then you have another thing coming!_

'_Oh please, Flora, don't make me laugh,' _The young nature fairy didn't need to see to know her evil twin was no doubt enjoying what she caused, loving her twisted games that reminded her too much of Alaric's. '_You don't just get it, do you? You are a puppet, sweetie. My puppet, which I can play with and use to amuse with however and whenever I please. You are a simply key needed to unlock the door that will help set free finally and permanently free from here. You were born for that purpose. I spent my last moments performing the reincarnation spell, which created you. So, do me and yourself a huge favor and don't fill your head with such silly thoughts that you can actually get yourself out of this._'

_I'll show you! _

With each pulse of her heartbeat, Flora could feel inside the raven power pulsing along with the beat, moving in perfect rhythm as it grew stronger with each passing minute. The Midnight Raven was definitely stronger than anything she has ever felt or seen before, bathed with thousands of years of the darkest magic of the whole universe. A mixture of the combined powers of the sinister seven, clan close to the Devil and would do anything to please him, powers from the power source of the Devil's own incredible powers and from the opposite force of the Dragon Fire. Its' power and strength were practically endless, unlimited, growing even stronger from all the bitter emotions it fed on over the years. She was going to use that power to show Libitina and Alaric what happens when you really push her.

"I love playing with you, my dear, but it's time for me to go. Ta-ta for now." He smirked as he saluted her and his legs, quickly followed by the rest of his body, were sliding right through the ground underneath his feet.

"I'm not finished yet!" She demanded angrily, kneeling down to ground where he phased through, and phased her left hand through to reach for him. As she pulled her hand out, Alaric was lifted from underneath and was covered with her black magic. He couldn't move at all, since she had a tight grip on him and he was under her control, but stared at her with wide, shocked eyes. "This time I have a message for you!"

Unbelievably, nearly every bone in his body cracked with a sickening sound as she levitated high in the air, and with a thrust of her right hand, she hurled him against the stronger boulder in the whole forest that was hundreds of time stronger than steel. It actually brought a great deal of pain to himself, something he has never felt before physically, and nearly cracked his head. He looked up to see Flora gliding toward him, her hands glowing in black flames and eyes as red as blood and showed intense anger flashing in them. Such strong, intense anger like nothing he has ever seen before, raging like fierce fire.

"You can tell that queen of yours, she will have to have me destroyed herself before I lift a finger to help her!" Flora summoned a powerful lightening-zapped ball of negative energy in her hand, too big to even fit her palm, and sent it rushing toward Alaric, hurling him even harder against the boulder and nearly knocking the wind out of him in the process.

"You can tell her yourself," Alaric snarled, fumed by the amount of burning pain throbbing in his body. It's been so long since he has been treated like this, felt anything like this, he assumed practically nothing could harm him. What really made him furious was how he really misjudged the girl, underestimating how strong the flame of anger inside of her would become as he pushed her. It never occurred to him she could use the power on her own. "The hour is near, and the fallen queen will rise again."

Flora wasn't going to let him get away with that. She hurled Alaric against the boulder once more, against the hardest trees she could locate, against anything, having the pleasure to watch fresh cuts slice on his body with blood gushing from the bruises. Fired multiple, powerful blasts and balls of energy at him that never failed to knock him hard to the ground, knocking the wind out of him and delaying his healing process.

She used the power for one last attack. With her feet spread apart, her hands clenched to fists and held tightly by her side, she felt all the rage, every flame of anger she had within flow uncontrollably inside her and used that anger to summon the great spirit of the Raven. The spirit has grown far more powerful and stronger than the last time, ten times its' already enormous size, looming over all and letting out its' powerful screech as it spread out its' wings. With a cry of anger, sounding like a high-pitched shout that matched the noise the raven was making and was echoing throughout the forest, Flora released the Raven and the raven rushed like lightening toward Alaric.

The very second the Midnight Raven collided against Alaric's body, an explosion of massive energy like nothing no one has seen or felt as powerful as that erupted into such a huge bang. Everyone was slammed hard by it, getting knocked out unconscious in an instant, and sent powerful energy shockwaves pulsing throughout the forest.

Up in the sky, a Red Fountain ship was zooming and landed right by the sight. As the ship's passage door opened, Ms. Faragonda with Professor Saladin and Sky with the rest of the Red Fountain boys ran over to the clearing in front of the lagoon lake where the class was scattered all over the place, including the Trix witches knocked out and caught in tree branches. The students were knocked out hard, lying on either their backs or sides of flat on their stomach, slipping in and out of conscious as they groaned in pain.

"Bloom!" Sky cried as he ran over to Bloom, who was lying close to the ocean and getting wet as the waves rolled in and out pass her. He carried her in his arms and called her name again as he shook her gently, trying to get a respond out of her.

Musa and Stella were underneath a huge pile of high rocks that was close to collapsing on top of them, so Riven and Brandon rescued them and quickly gathered them in their arms before the rocks could fall on them. Like Bloom, Layla was close to the lake, only to be swept off the water by Nabu, who slowly caressed her cheek before gathering her in his arms. As for Tecna, she was resting under a pine tree where Timmy was trying to shake her awake. It was only Helia who couldn't find his girl, getting more worry each second he couldn't see her anywhere in the forest.

"Tec? Tecna! Can you hear her?" Timmy asked her, seeing much hasn't changed even though he shook her over a dozen times. He turned to the others and said "She was hit hard."

Once the others confirmed the same condition for their girlfriends and the other girls, worried lines creased on Ms. Faragonda's forehead. She and the other students were hit hard by the energy waves, knocked hard against the nearest wall or slammed onto the ground as they were chilled to the bone by the cold touch of dark magic lingering in the air. The same thing happened at Cloud tower and Red Fountain, and some students suffered serious injuries while bruises were minor for the others.

That was just caused by the energy waves. She couldn't imagine what the others experienced since they were near the explosion.

"Set the girls down easy, boys, and stand back." She instructed them. When the boys followed her instructions, Ms. Faragonda outstretched her hands, said an enchantment in a tongue, foreign language, and casted a healing spell and energy booster over the class.

Tecna slowly opened her eyes, and shook her head slightly as she slowly sat up. Soon after her, the others began to wake up, too.

"Are you girls alright?" Saladin asked. Pained and exhausted groans from being waked up from their unconscious trance and murmurs saying they were alright were answer responses to that question.

"Great sun, moon, and stars!" Nathalie groaned as she slowly got up from the ground and stretching her wary, tense muscles.

"Nathalie, what happened?" Ms. Faragonda asked.

Before she could response, something happened in the sky again; another round of explosion with a dark display of black light erupted again. A powerful witch was flowing high in the sky and holding Alaric and the witches inside a barrier, and she waved her hand, the barrier disappeared. Stormy was the first one to feel pain as her body made hard contact with the ground, but the pain continued as Darcy fell on top of her followed by Icy, who added pain to both accounts, and lastly Alaric, who weighed more than all three of them combined and added extra pressure to the pain.

Flora slowly descended from the sky, making everyone stare at her in disbelief with wide, shocked eyes.

Dressed in a red sleeveless top that matched the color of blood and black skirt that resembled a Gothic rose tutu skirt, her hair in a darker shade of brown and flowing in the wind, emerald eyes glowing bright red and showing nothing but dark coldness inside them and were narrowed into cold slits, and with black eye shadow and mascara caked around her eyes and glossy red painted on her lips that were set in a thin line, Flora looked the exact opposite of whom she was: a witch.

Flora looked down at the witches and their master with anger and slight pity for them, no doubt feeling a bit sorry for them since they were looking so pathetic right now. She flipped her hair, brushing it away from her eyes, and said to Alaric, "I'm not afraid of you, Alaric. Not now, not even again."

As she said that, she fired a flaming death-strike orb at him, which knocked him backwards to the ground.

Alaric's body, which was scraped and scarred with so many bruises and was extremely bloody with some bruises really losing a lot of blood, finally healed and resorted itself to perfect condition. But the proper healing didn't cool down the anger written all over his face.

"You may not fear me anymore, but look at who is now afraid of you." Alaric gestured his hand toward her friends, and with a snap of his fingers, he and the witches vanished in a heartbeat.

Flora slowly turned around to face them when she could sense their presence standing close behind her, instantly regretting it when she saw the baffled expressions on their faces and the non-believing look in their eyes as they stared at her, speechless.

Bloom took small steps toward her and was reaching out toward her friend. "Flora?"

Flora then gave her a kind smile, which immediately removed the darkness in her face and softened the harsh lines on her features, as warmness was slowly starting to defrost her chilled eyes. As she held onto Bloom's hand, she smiled at her and Bloom smiled back at her, glad to see the fairy she knew who her friend was. But suddenly, darkness began to creep its' way onto Flora's sweet smile, as her eyes grew cold with amusement.

"Hello Bloom, goodbye Bloom." Bloom opened her mouth to scream out in agony pain as she felt waves of throbbing pain wave over her, nearly drowning her in its' deep depths and spreading all throughout her body while giving her an icy cold feeling. Flora's grip immediately tightening and she twisted Bloom's wrist all the way around, causing it to make a sickening crunching sound, with little effort needed to be done.

The others rushed over to help their friend, but one amused look from Flora, they all were dropped to the knees, bent over in obvious agony as they were holding onto their heads and screaming in pain. Except the pain went even further than that. It was like something was crawling through their brains, going through their memories, and displaying their most terrified, frightening nightmares right before their eyes while they were being drained of energy.

The girls went through something very similar to this once with the nightmare monster the witches sent to drain their powers as they were sleeping. Only this time, it wasn't the monster causing the pain and nightmares; it was being caused by Flora-or Libitina.

A dark black aura energy cocooned around their bodies as they were trying to fight off the pain and face their horrible fears was being poured into her. Spilling right through her heart, making the aura energy glow spread around her body, but giving her more strength and increasing her powers.

The dark queen sighed with satisfied while feeling such powerful strength flowing through her body, giving the raven so much power with each pulse. She then looked down at the scared, baffled expressions on the Winx girls and Red Fountain boys and teachers' faces as they were trying to fight off her enhancement, which was as close to impossible to defeat, and glanced at Bloom lying on the ground and clutching onto her wounded wrist as she was also caught in the nightmare spell. "Grief, rage, fear. Emotions of sadness, vulnerability, and rage are what my power feeds on, which makes it so strong." She smirked.

Bloom winched as she felt pain shooting through her twisted wrist, stinging in ache and throbbing, but she pushed through her pain to get back up and be steady on her feet. "Flora, what is going on?"

"Wrong," The smirk, still un-wiped from her face, widening as she cocked her head to one side. "Your friend's time is up, so now it's my turn to play. And I really do love playing."

Unfolding behind her, a pair of lustrous wings black as midnight and identical to those of a raven sprouted from her back, unfolding and expanding largely until they were spread out wide and grew into beautiful, dark wings. Then, without a glance back, Flora turned around and flew away, her beautiful raven wings going incredibly faster than the speed of fairy wings.

"Flora!" Bloom yelled when the dark nightmare enchantment and pain vanished, and she and her friends were trying to pull themselves tighter and panting out of breathe.

"Come back!" Helia yelled; the first thing he said since he saw her.

Sky went over to Bloom, ripped a piece of cloth from his blue cape, and used it as a bandage to wrap around her broken wrist. "Are you okay, Bloom?" Sky asked.

"Forget about me," She replied. "We have to get Flora."

"That wasn't your friend, Bloom," Nathalie said, earning herself the attention spotlight. "When that explosion happened the first time, I felt such a powerful shift in the balance happening with your friend. A shift between good and bad energy, between white magic and black magic, or to be more precise, between Flora and Libitina. That explosion was caused by such tremendous anger, and that anger helped Libitina escape and take control. The control, however, seems more like an on-and-off thing where Flora is being the host one minute and Libitina the next. Flora's trying to fight her off, that I can tell, but I fear Libitina has grown far too strong for your friend to control on her own."

"So, Libitina has control of her?' Nabu asked.

"Libitina is the only person who I know can do what she just did to us. Trapping us in our nightmares while she was steals emotional energy from us, which were bitter emotions. And I can only guess she'll have control for awhile," Nathalie said, looking lost in her thoughts as she thought more about her theory. "But she's aware she can not have complete control, though, because the prophecy day has yet to come and Flora didn't perform the spell yet, which will permanently free her. Despite the anger and energy boost she got from our emotions, Libitina can only have control for a certain amount of time."

"We have to stop her then!" Brandon said. "She's a dangerous witch let loose in Magix and can do some serious damage."

"Brandon's right," Layla agreed. "First things first, we have to find out where she's going?"

"Tecna? Musa? Do you think you can track her down?" Brandon asked.

While Tecna was quickly typing in information and pressing buttons on her locator on the handheld, Musa simply closed her eyes and listened, using her sonic-advanced ears to listen to all the things happening around the forest. Even the quietest sounds were as loud as drumbeat ringing in her head. The sound of small woodland animals collecting food or playing with one another, the sound of the wind blowing a gentle breeze, the waves of the water, her breathing and her friends' breathing and heartbeats. She could hear a faint heartbeat in the sky, going further and further away from her, and heading from which she could guess was east. She decided that certain heartbeat had to be Flora's.

"I hear her," the music fairy said. "It's a really fainted sound because she's really far away from me, but I can still hear it. She's heading east."

"And I got a fix on her," Tecna announced when the coordinates of the location showed up on her screen. "You're right, Musa. She is heading east, right to Alfea."

"We have to go a move on then," Stella said. "Before she hurts herself."

"Or hurts someone else." Riven frowned. "If Libitina is still in control and she really is as dangerous as you say, Nathalie, then trouble is going to be coming."

"Riven's right," Saladin agreed with the hot-headed hero in training, nodding his head. "You girls and boys better get over there. Ms. Shine, Faragonda, and I will heal the rest of the students who still need help, gather them up, and try to meet you there as soon as we can."

"Luckily for all of you, I happen to know the quickest way to get there." Stella smiled brightly as she peeled off the ring of Solaria and tossed it high in the air, turning into the powerful staff. Twirling it around easily with both hands, she set it firmly on the ground, and in an instant, they were standing in front of Alfea.

It was safe to say the energy shockwaves from the huge explosion reached here and affected everyone in the school. Students, teachers and professors, and even some pixies were lying on their stomachs or sides or backs, knocked out cold. Some students has some bruises, which indicted they were hit hard and took a serious fall. Aside from the sight, the school was eerily quiet and there was such an ice-cold touch lingering in the air.

"Does anyone else find the quiet to be a little creepy?" Brandon asked, who was getting the creeps from the silence since it seemed like the perfect setting for a horror movie. Right before something makes the big group of friends to separate into small pairs and the thing haunting them down one by one.

"I know what you mean, Brandon," Sky said. "It's almost feels like a horror movie."

Musa commented how the silence really was creepy, creepy and really strange to her. Her ears couldn't pick up any other sound anywhere. She couldn't hear footsteps, breathing, or heartbeat other than the people here. Nothing that would prove Flora was here.

"Let me see if I can pick up her exact location," Tecna pulled out her handheld, and after typing in Flora's description, she typed in numbers and looked into the coordinates. But soon nothing turned up on the screen, which confused the digital fairy. "How very odd."

"What's wrong, Tecna?" Timmy asked, leaning closer to his girlfriend.

"What's wrong, Timmy, is that my locator cannot find her. The readings are all over the place, like she's somehow everywhere at once, but cannot pick up her exact locator."

"Then she must be moving fast like lightening," Musa suggested. "The only sounds I can pick up are footsteps and wings moving almost like a ghost."

The school campus was so huge and since they couldn't hear her or use technology to track her down, Bloom decided the best thing for them to do was spilt up into small pairs and check out the whole school. That would be an easier and most likely chance to find Flora. But not everyone seemed to agree with the plan. Timmy immediately yelped out a big, fat "No!" before Bloom could even finish the sentence, which shocked everyone.

Timmy blushed when he saw everyone was looking at him and realized how freaked out he sounded. "What I meant to say was…I think its better we stay together. For safety, numbers, and all that."

Riven half-snorted and laughed as a smirk appeared on his face. "In translation, he's terrified that someone or something is going to attack us. Like some horror flick."

"I'm not scared, I'm just worried!" Timmy snapped. "In case you haven't noticed, Riven, our friend isn't exactly acting like herself."

Helia looked like he was a second or two away from punching the lights out of both of them. Heck, the way they were wasting time arguing when they should be looking around, anyone would be tempted to give them a punch in hopes it would shut them up. The sooner they start looking, the sooner he would find Flora. "If you two are bickering like damn cats and dogs, then I suggest we start looking!"

Layla, on the other hand, was worried. Besides Musa, Flora was one of the first and great friends she made here at Alfea and was really close to. So, what was she going to do if she sees her friend face to face again when Flora's not exactly the one in control of her own body and the person who is was a cold-hearted witch who killed her own best friend over eight hundred years ago? She really didn't want to hurt Flora, but if Libitina was still in control and gonna fire, then she was going to need to defend herself.

Despite Timmy's horror movie fear, it was still decided they were going to spilt up. Sky was paired up with Bloom, Stella with Brandon, Musa with Riven, Timmy with Tecna, and Layla with Nabu. Because of the odd number of people, Helia was the only one without a partner but he assured his friends he was going to be extra careful and immediately call for backup if something comes up.

When it was time to get moving, they went over which part of the campus they were going to search, wish the others luck and pleaded them to be extra careful, and then went their separate ways.

The Alfea library was definitely bigger than the one the boys had at Red Fountain, but then again with the potions and spells the teacher make the girls study, Helia figured they were going to need every book they could get. He took in the library's massively enormous size, stared at the staircase leading up to the seventh floor of the library, wide and tall endless shelves filled with over thousands and thousands of books and scrolls. This would definitely be the perfect place for someone to hide. More than perfect. There was so much ground to cover, he decided the first thing to do was to check out the main floor.

Clutching onto his laser-gloved right hand to him, Helia took small and quiet steps as he checked around the library floor and kept his eyes open.

From the corner of his eye, he saw something suddenly flash, which caused him to stiffen before standing still.

Whatever he saw was definitely fast, but he was sure he saw something move. And had a feeling that someone was watching him intensely, staring so intensely and hard, he could feel the eyes boring holes into his back.

"It's funny how everyone resembles their past relatives so well," said a voice he immediately with a pang going through his heart recognized so well. "But out of all of them, I'd have say you seem to have such a strong resemblance with yours."

Helia quickly turned around and nearly jumped back, soon feeling foolish when he saw it was only Flora.

Or, was it?

He wasn't a full-blooded wizard like his uncle, Saladin, but did have some drops of magic in his blood, along with heroics. It was enough to tell him that something was wrong with his love.

She was standing right in front of him with her arms crossed against her chest, her face unreadable and looking up at him with her eyes back to their beautiful emerald-green color and expressionless. No longer dressed as a dark witch, she looked to be in normal form and was wearing her yellowish-green tee and pink mini skirt he has seen her wear countless times before and always thought she looked beautiful in. But there was something wrong. There was such a dark feeling he could sense flowing around her.

"Rosalina." It shocked him how strong, unbelievable warmth was traveling through his body, only to be rippled and scorned by strange, almost unbearable sorrow. Strange, almost unbearable sorrow to be hardened with equally strange and strong sense of betrayal.

_Of course!_ Helia realized. _She and Julio loved each other more than anything else in the world, but Rosalina went to the dark side with Alaric by her side and betrayed Julio. He loved her, would have given his life in a heartbeat to saves hers, done anything to make her laugh or smile, and she killed and betrayed him. _

Slight surprise almost flashed through the emerald eyes of the imposter Flora. Almost, at least, until it was chilled. She kept her face unreadable and her eyes expressionless as she glared at him. But something began to show in her eyes.

Something that did the trick to defrost the chill in her cold eyes, making them into something that almost looked sad. Bitter, but much sadder than that. Almost like regret. That emotion, something he could tell was something she hasn't thought of feeling for such a long time and very rare and raw, caused tears to form in her eyes.

"When I said how funny I thought it was that history seemed to be repeating itself, this is one part I didn't want to happen," Rosalina said, turning her back to him, but he could see tears starting to fall from her eyes. "What happen between me and him…I didn't want my reincarnate to suffer through the same thing, but it looks like she has to."

"You mean what happened with you and Julio," She didn't respond, but he already knew the answer to that one. "You killed him and betrayed him, but deep down in you heart, you still felt something powerful and strong for him, something not even the Midnight Raven could erase from you, because nothing could get rid of the passion, the love, and yearning you felt for him. And you regretted that, along with killing your friends, since then, haven't you?"

Rosalina still wouldn't turn to him, refusing to meet his eyes. She still kept her back turned to him, her balled-up hands clenched into tight fists and still by her sides, and as quiet as she was, Helia could pick up the faint sound of stiffening. The sound of crying. He took small steps toward her, noticing how she wasn't even moving, and slowly reached out for her left shoulder, taking note of how her posture was starting to stiffen.

The air began to dissolve around them. Then they were spinning, like they were place inside those spinning tea cups rides at the amusement parks that was going faster and faster by the second, so fast he almost like throwing up.

There were flashes-

One after another, after the next, quickly opening and quickly closing like doors, second after second.

One flash: a beautiful, caramel-haired fairy wearing a cute white dress and had such breathtaking beauty of an angel, which stopped the heart of a young man who was tall and lean, serious but at the same time passionate, his long ponytail blowing with the wind while he looked up from his drawing and looked into her beautiful jeweled eyes.

The man bared such a striking resemblance to him, Helia knew right away it was Julio and the girl was his Flora, or to be specific, Rosalina.

Another flash: The two of them running in the forest. A laughing Rosalina gathering the skirts of her dress to run faster with Julio behind her, smiling and laughing, and gaining on her.

Another flash: Rosalina looking like a angel in her beautiful strapless pink, triple layer ruffle hem dress, her caramel hair pulled back but also cascading down her back with a single, pink rose in it, and smiling at Julio, looking like a gentleman in his fine, black tux, as the two held each other closely. She was resting her head on his chest and he rested his chin on her hair, pecking the top of her head here and there, and they were swaying through the soft music the classical symphony orchestra was playing.

Next flash: Rosalina dumbfounded and speechless as Julio led them outside to their spot at the forest, in front of their favorite tree, and he got down on one knee, pulled out a small jewelry box from his jacket's pocket and opened it to reveal a five-carat diamond ring to her. _"Rosalina, you are lovely rose, my sun, my life, and my one and only true love. I love you more than I love my life or anything in the universe, and would give up my life in an instant to save yours. Will you do me the great honor of being my wife and make me the happiest man in the entire dimension?"_

Tears were nearly spilling from her eyes, and a sob escaped from her mouth as Rosalina slowly pulled her hands away from her mouth. Words couldn't even describe this moment right now; she didn't know what to say. So, she kissed him passionately, pouring all the love, all the passion and yearning she felt for him, all the happiness she felt from being with him into one single kiss that nearly knocked the wind out of both of them but in a good way.

"_Yes." She smiled. _

The other sets of flashes, however, weren't as happy or joyful as the earlier ones.

Like a door opening wide, another flash started: Alaric, the cruel villain he loathed with a hating passion, holding out his hand with a cruel smirk on his face for them but a gentle smile for her, and Rosalina taking that hand and walking away. Leaving her shocked friends whom use to mean the world to her and a dumfounded and speechless Julio behind, and never looking back as she went with Alaric and walked away with him, disappearing into the shadows in an instant.

To describe the unbearably, indescribable pain tearing Julio inside as he watched the love of his life walk away from everything they shared, crossing over and joining the dark side was something no use or amount of words could benefit from.

Last flash: Their friends' descendants long dead and their bodies scattered all over Libitina's throne room with him and her remaining, fighting it out and determined not to lose the deadly fight. Julio bringing out a sharp dagger that was coated with a deep black liquid and thrusting the deadly knife into Rosalina's heart as Rosalina summoned a lightening zapped-blast that went right through his heart. Crimson blood flowed from both wounds, spilling onto the floor. Julio was the first one to collapse onto the ground.

He was getting weaker and weaker, his body was failing him. He mustered all the strength within himself to look at Libitina, who was hovering over him and looking down at him with cold, expressionless eyes. _"No matter what they said about how much you lost yourself, we always believed that somewhere deep inside of you was the girl we all remembered was our friend. I always have and always will love you Rosalina."_

When he slowly closed his eyes, his body began to glow and an orb of life-force energy lifted itself from his chest. It was his soul. Libitina stared at the energy orb with hungry eyes, opening her mouth and about to suck it into the raven's power.

But at the last minute she closed her mouth and watched his life-force rise higher and higher until it vanished.

"You let him go," Helia said when the flashes and spinning sensation finally stopped altogether. "You were about to suck in his soul like you did with the others, but you let his go."

For the longest time Rosalina made no comment and kept her arms folded against her chest, staring straight ahead with her back turned to him. But slowly she turned to him, and when she did, Helia saw tears streaming down her cheeks and so much sadness in her eyes while she kept her expression unreadable. "I did sometimes play with Julio and Alaric, enjoyed the fact I have two boys eating from the palm of my hand. But little did they both knew one of them already had my heart and always will forever."

_Julio_, Helia concluded. _Despite everything she had done to him and her friends, all the destruction and killing cause by her, she couldn't _un-love_ him. No matter how much she may have wanted, she still loved him. _

"You saw the flashbacks, and you look exactly like him," Rosalina began taking baby steps toward him, and looked up at him. "Tell me this, young specialist, are you really him? Are you my Julio? There is something in you that I can't exactly grasp that makes you different from the others. Something that means me thinks you're more than an ordinary descendant."

Was he really Julio? That was something Helia wasn't all sure about that. The resemblance between him and young pacifist was un-cunning and striking, and the fact he can see flashes of the actual past proves he's more than just a descendant. It would also explain why he immediately hated Alaric the second he saw him, a stranger he barely even met or knew but made his blood boil. But there was still some things left unsaid and unexplained.

If he really was Julio, then why don't more flashbacks or memories came to his head like they do with Flora? He had seen the flashes, but only when Flora or Rosalina were being touched by him. So, what did that mean exactly?

Rosalina wiped the tears away from her eyes, realizing how much time she wasted and it was time to get down to much serious business. But there was still something she wanted to try though. Whether or not the boy was whom she thought she was, she wanted to seized the chance and do one more thing.

As her lips touched his, both of them were powerless to pull away from it. The sweet taste of her mouth, the feel of her lips against his was more than enough to make him dizzy and almost make him go mad. The closer she pressed against him, the more his stomach churned with the thrill and agony of what happened to the two lovers in the past. His tongue traced hers, and she slowly moaned as she used her tongue to brush against his, feeling such strong adrenaline going through her. The fire between them burned brighter, hotter, more powerful and passionate with every new touch, every new exploration. Which happened multiple times before, yet managed to seem brand-new.

When their lips finally parted, both were panting hard and reckless from the kiss. Rosalina could have swore she saw a spark of recognition in his eyes, but she reminded herself she wasted time having fun and it was time to get back to business.

"BTW, before I leave there's something I have to tell you," She said, not sure why she's telling him this but figured she might as well. "I made Flora kiss Alaric today before you boys showed up. It seemed like a good idea because Alaric has been waiting so long to be kissed by me and I thought it would help spark some memories for her."

She had the great pleasure to watch the expression of slight remembrance crumpled into shock, which had to admit seemed almost funny.

Helia was speechless, he was shocked. But before something he could respond, something hard smacked him right across the face and knocked him out cold.

Rosalina looked down at Helia's collapse form, bent down to touch his soft lips and then lightly trace her own lips, which was still tingly from the kiss, and shrugged innocently like she didn't said something shocking to him and knocked the boy out unconscious. "Well, that was fun." She smiled.


	11. Chapter 11

"Copy that, Riven. Layla and I are on the girls' floor right now and about to check out their dorm. If we see anything suspicious, we'll page you guys back. Over and out." Nabu said through his walkie-talkie, and then tucked it into his pocket.

"Let take a guess. He and Musa didn't find anything like the others, right?" Layla said.

Nabu nodded with a weak smile on his face, and she rolled her eyes as she sighed tiredly.

Things were going just fine; they were going just swimmingly. The pairs have been searching nearly the whole frigging place for almost an hour, practically going back and forth, and calling one another to let them know their search has turned up nothing.

Layla remembered how before she flew away from the forest, Libitina said she was going to have big fun with the games she planed to play with them. If one of those games she mentioned was hide-and-seek, then Layla can honestly say Libitina was the best player she has ever seen.

"Don't worry, Layla," Nabu draped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her close to him, and smiled down at her uncertain face. "We'll find her, I know we will."

_I can only hope so, too,_ she thought, worrying about her friend.

The second she unlocked the door with her room key and pushed it open, she and Nabu were shocked and gasped in unison by what awaited them inside.

The whole place was trashed. The furniture were turned and slashed, the bookshelves and different shelves all were snapped in two and set on the floor, broken pieces of glass from the punched-in windows showering the floor, the table smashed(along with the TV) against the wall. The doors to the bedrooms were opened a small bit to show a glimpse of how trashed up and messed-up they were now, each room looking more disastrous than the last.

"Oh," Nabu stared around with wide eyes.

"My," Layla's mouth literally dropped to the ground.

"God." They said in unison.

"Well, it's safe to say she's been here," Nabu said, walking inside the trashed-up dorm. He turned back to Layla, who was still standing by the doorway and still looking shocked by what she was seeing, and gently yet firmly tugged her arm and pulled her inside. "We better start looking. I'll check Stella's room, you check Flora and Bloom's, then we both check your room you share with Musa and Tecna."

With each step she was taking forward to Flora's room, Layla couldn't shake the strange, weird feeling in the pit of her stomach. Like this was all a trap they were walking blindingly into.

Flora's and Bloom's room was just as about as torn-up and trashed as the living room. Clothes, books, and CDs shredded or smashed, lying scattered all over the floor; beds were turned over with slashed blankets and pillows; bookshelves pushed to the ground, and there were a few cracks on the wall. Layla could see Flora's plants were dried up and dead and the window were punched-in with scattered pieces lying on the floor.

"Dear God." Layla muttered to herself as she looked around the ruined room.

The door flew shut and the lock set itself to be locked. Layla sucked in her breath when she knew she wasn't alone in the room, and could feel a presence standing behind her she knew wasn't Nabu.

Flora was leaning against the door, obviously waiting for her, with her arms folded against her chest and smiling at Layla's stunned face. "Well, hello there Layla."

Each step Flora was taking forward, Layla was moving back to back away from her.

"What's wrong?" Flora said. "Aren't you even gonna say hi and give your BFF a big, ole hug?"

If she was her BFF, then Layla would most certainly ran over to her with open arms and give her a big hug. That is, if she was really that foolish enough to do so. The girl standing in front of her seemed like Flora with warmth in her emerald-green eyes and a kind smile on her face, softening the harsh angles of her features from earlier, looking like the kind-hearted, sweet fairy. Layla would have almost fell for it, too, if she hasn't looked harder into her face and knew right off the bat it was all for show-not to mention the fact she could feel dark magic coming from her.

"Cut the act, Rosalina," Layla snapped. "Or should I call you Libitina?"

Flora let out a fake gasp, adding more to the act by placing her hand over her chest. But when she saw Layla was un-amused, she let out a breath of cold laughter and as she closed her eyes, then opened her eyes. The emerald green shade was lost in a sea of crimson red, and a cold smile spread across her face.

"You're even smarter than you look and less stupid than I thought you would be," the dark angel smiled at her. "Too bad, though, that's not gonna be enough to help you, sweetie."

She snapped her both her fingers, and a loud scream echoed through the dorm, bouncing off the walls.

Layla recognized that scream. It was Nabu.

"Nabu! Hang on, I'm coming!" But before Layla could reach the door, she felt herself being lifted off the ground and a burning sensation of pain throbbing in her back as she was slammed against the wall, the pain got more intense as she slowly sank to the ground.

Layla shook her head to get rid of the pain, and saw Libitina was walking toward her with her lips sticking out in a pout. But the pout turned into a smug smirk when the dark angel saw she had her full attention.

"Don't even bother, insect. Even if you somehow slipped away from my grasp, there's nothing you can do help your pathetic little boyfriend. He's with the rest of your little friends whom you'll be joining soon enough." She told Layla.

Layla aimed a tidal whirlwind at her, her strongest attack, but the wave froze mi-air when it reached Flora, who glared down at the spell with bright red eyes, and splashed onto the floor.

Libitina chuckled darkly, clearly amused by the disbelief and baffled expression on Layla's face. "The Midnight Raven is truly a wonderful, extraordinary power. It has control over emotions and mentality, but it also a very powerful brand of telekinesis. This gives me control of practically everything you can think of and more. Not only that, but also control over the elements. Water, air, and my two personal favorites, earth and fire." Her eyes, which were bigger than before, glow an unusual shade of very vivid red, which was glowing brighter and brighter the more Layla stared into them. Black flames shot up from the ground surrounding her in a circle, and Libitina stretched out her right hand to collect parts of the wild flames into a ball of fire she bounced up and down.

Layla could see she was really no match for the dark angel. Libitina was way too strong, more experienced with powers that her owns couldn't even compare with. That only thing she hasn't tried yet was talking it out. Flora was still inside there, somewhere probably deep inside, trying to fight and gain control of herself. All she needed was a little help.

"Flora, listen to me. I know you're in there. Listen to my voice and try to remember who you are," Layla said. "It's me, Layla. Remember? One of your best friends."

"You might as well save your breath, you little prick of mucus. Your friend is my weak, little puppet, and now it's time for me to have some fun before I am forced to go back to that void known to me as her mind," Libitina rolled her narrowed eyes, obviously not to keen of the idea she only had a limited time of control and would have to sooner or later go back where she was imprisoned inside Flora's mind. She then shook her head to clear her thoughts and waved to Layla like she was saying goodbye. "Nighty night, sweetheart. Have pleasant dreams."

Before Layla could ask what the heck she meant by that, a sharp pain swiftly smacked her hard across the face. The pain was so hard, so intense; her whole body was affected by the strong force. Especially her head that felt a dull thud and her vision was getting darker and darker. Before she blacked out, Layla heard the sound of the coldest, most frightening and wicked laugh she has ever heard before.

When Layla opened her eyes sometime later, feeling pain shooting through her head, she saw the room she was in was the mysterious library vault of priceless artifacts and ancient spell books, which were neither good or bad magic and fell in between the category, and where portraits of villains from the past and present hung on the walls. She also saw she, her friends-who thankfully looked in decent condition-along with Ms. Faragonda, Professor Saladin, and Nathalie were being hung by shackles and suspended high in the air.

"Layla, it's good to see you're okay." Musa, who was hanging right next to her, said.

"I'm glad you're alright." Said Nabu, who managed to smile despite the situation they were in.

"Guys, what happened?" Layla remembered her and Nabu searching the girls' dorm, which was torn-up and trashed, and them splitting up and searching different rooms. Her being face-to-face with the infamous, cold-hearted, dark angel, Libitina. The details on what happened between the two were very fuzzy to her head and really hard to remember. Mainly due to the fact her head was still recovering from the huge blow that knocked her out.

"Libitina is what happened." Nathalie sneered, and the sound of her name made hateful scowls darken their faces.

"Unfortunately, what poin-dexter feared came true," Riven nodded his head toward Timmy's direction. "The wicked witch of the west hunted us down, pair by pair, and knocked us out. When we woke up, we saw we were all gathered in this lovely, little doll of a room." Even in situations like this, Riven never disappoints to have a sarcastic remark set and ready to be said.

"When we approached the school, I told the other girls to wait for us outside and wake up the unconscious while we went inside to find Libitina. But unfortunately, as you can all see, she ended up finding us inside." Ms. Faragonda said.

"I'm not sure how it happened, but all I can recall is our shadows rising and grabbing us. Dragging down, and hearing her laugh before everything just went black." Saladin added.

"Now, what I see is our last sleeping beauty waking up from her hundred year nap," said a familiar voice, which was seemingly sweet as honey and pleasant, but incredibly cold and frightening underneath, causing the hairs on the back of their necks to stretch out high.

It was so hard to look at her and even harder to think furious, hateful thoughts about her because whether they liked it or not, the girl was Flora. Though the two were absolutely nothing alike and had such strong differences in their personalities like day and night, the fact still remains the witch's spirit was inside Flora and that spirit was the one in control. They could all tell by the cruel, nasty smirk on her face and the gleam of laughter in her eyes.

"Why are you doing this?" Bloom asked.

Libitina pouted her lips as she thought about it for a moment. "Because it's fun."

"Real reason!"

Libitina shook her head at Bloom, making a sound and giving the fairy a look that said she should be ashamed of herself for being so rude. Then, a bone-chilling and frightening smile spread across her face that was something so haunting, enough to have you shaking without even realizing it, and looked like the same vicious smile the devil wore proudly on his own face. Laughing amused, and speaking coldly, she answered, "I swear, insect, you remind me why I loathe taking prisoners. They always bore me quickly with their questions and words, and then I simply dispose of them."

"You mean by sucking the life out of them, like the witch you are!" Nathalie snapped, barely able to contain her anger towards the witch. The same one who was traitor in everyone's eyes, caused so much destruction and killed so many innocent people, and killed people she care about. Including her beloved sister.

Libitina frowned by the interruption, and glared at Nathalie, her red eyes focusing on her head. Nathalie was soon yelling in pain as her body was twitching uncontrollably like it had a mind of its' own mind. The pain lasted for the poor woman till Libitina, smiling in satisfaction, was done stealing emotional energy from her and looked away. Turning back to Bloom, she answered "I'll make this as plain and clear as I can. I do what I want, whenever I want, to who I want."

"And the reason why you're here is…" Tecna scowled at her while Libitina only smile.

"You think I have an objective, insect?"

"I know so. Logic tells me that is so."

"Logic, huh?" Libitina raised one eyebrow at her, and then laughed a chilled and sinister sound close to scattering glass. "Well, it's safe to say Titania certainly passed down her logical bull-crap to her family."

"What do you want, Rosalina!" Helia yelled, frustrated and through with her games.

"Simple. I want my freedom, my power, and of course, my throne and crown back," She looked at each one of them slowly, her dark smile growing bigger and more sinister. "And your little friend is the key to that dream. Since Alaric is too busy doing only God knows what and giving me headache from not delivering the message, looks I will have to do that on my own. I can to warn all of you that if you get in the destiny's way, I will not only kill you, I'll erase you from existence. I told the same thing to your descendants a long time ago if they chose to get in my way, I will not show them any mercy, and like the fools they are, they went against my authority and rebel. They ended up having to pay for the price with their lives and an eternity as life supplies for my power."

"They were fighting for something they believed in. To hope that they could stop you from causing any more pain and damage than you've already done," Musa snapped. "They were brave because despite the risks they knew they would be facing, they accepted it head-on, and we are proud to be related to them. I feel bad for Flo and her family, because you're a complete disgrace to them. I hope you enjoy all the fun and time you have left, because I know Flora's strong and she's gonna kick your ass back to the prison where you were kept. If it wasn't for the fact you're inside her, then I'd be more than happy to kick your ass myself."

The insult didn't make the smile disappear from her face. Instead it grew bigger till it was an ear-to-ear, wicked grin that promised nothing but trouble, which reminded Bloom of the Christmas character How the Grinch stole Christmas with huge, dark grin. "Usually I don't tolerate snappy, sassy and feisty behavior. Especially coming from an insect hanging helplessly," Libitina said, walking toward Musa and getting near her face. "Who I can suck the soul out from in an instant just by taking in a deep breath."

"You stay the hell away from her or I'll make that face of yours look not so pretty anymore!" Riven exclaimed. Whether or not she was controlling Flora's body, he'd still punch the living daylights out of her if she hurts his girlfriend. Riven may not always know the right thing to do or say, but he was fiercely protective of Musa and kick the ass of anyone who dared try to hurt her. Whether the person was bigger than him or older, a king, or even a preacher.

Libitina ignored the empty threat and kept her eyes on Musa, who wasn't planning on backing down anytime soon. "Don't exactly like your attitude, but you do have spunk and I like that. Melody was so much like you, you know. She was a bit sensitive and rough around the edges, but underneath was someone strong-willed and never backs down. Something the raven finds very appealing and delicious in a soul."

"Flora, listen to me," Musa said. "It's me, Musa, one of your friends. We're your friends."

"You can fight her, Flora," Bloom added. "You're just as strong as she is. You can beat her."

Libitina rolled her eyes as the smile remained un-wiped from her face, simply saying "Don't waste your time or breaths. I swear, just like my reincarnation, none of you buffoons get it at all."

"Get what?" Brandon asked.

"Get the fact dear little Flora is a weak, spineless little girl who is easily fragile but could be so much more if she makes better use of those powers. But she could be the best if she finally accepts she was born for a purpose and to fulfill that purpose," Libitina answered with a painfully sweet smile. "She's too stubborn, to full of pathetic and useless faith, to accept her true being as the angel of darkness. To stubborn to accept she was born to spread darkness and cause destruction. The only reason why she is here in the first place is because of the reincarnation spell I used on myself. The prophecy is going to happen one way or another….unless…"

They were suspicious by the way her face looked to be distant, far away in her thoughts, as her voice trailed off. There was obviously something she knew they didn't know, and they weren't sure whether this was going to be another trick.

"Unless what?" Bloom asked, taking the bait.

Twirling her hand before balling it up into a fist, Libitina opened it to reveal a sharp dagger resting on the palm of her hand, its' shiny blade gleaming in the light. She held the knife in both hands, admiring the craftsmanship as she lightly brushed her thumb against the sharp blade. "Unless something was to end her life, of course."

"What are you talking about?" Stella demanded. "Chelsea didn't say anything about that."

"Chelsea?" Nathalie asked, confused.

Libitina smirked at her. "That's right. You didn't know your over eight times great niece was able to make contact with your darling sister," Turning to Stella, she said "Chelsea was right about saying the prophecy of Flora's birth is sealed and absolute, but she left out one small little detail. Something that would put a damper on my plans, a thing you could easily do to prevent the return of the dark angel and save the whole magical and non-magical universes from utter destruction. But it's something she knew and I know you cowards would never do because you care so much about your friend."

She titled her head back a bit, exposing her neck, and placed the dagger close to it. So close, the dagger was only a mere moment from being use to slash her throat. "You all could stop all this from happening by simply killing, Flora. Destroy her, and there's nothing for you to worry."

They all stared at her for a moment, drinking in what she just said and were speechless. The only way to stop the destiny from happening was to kill Flora? They all wanted so desperately to find some way to stop, but not _that_ way. She was their friend, and they would never dream of doing something so cruel and simply heartless like that. The thought of Flora being dead made Helia's heart stop for a few moments before dropping all the way down to the pit of his stomach. Julio and the others may have done that to Rosalina, but only because the girl lost herself in the dark power and it was only way to save the universe. Flora was a completely different story, who may be a bit insecure about her powers but would never turn her back on her friends to get a powerful energy source, then becoming twisted and evil.

"The only way to stop all this is to kill her?" Layla repeated.

"Pretty much right." Libitina nodded.

They looked at one another, having a private and silent conversation through their eye connection, and then Bloom turned back to Libitina and said "You're crazier than we thought if you actually think we would ever do anything like that to Flora.

"Flo's our home-gal, witch," Musa said. "We stand by each other."

"And we're going to figure out some way to stop this thing from happening on our own." Tecna added.

Libitina frowned at them all, but that frown soon became a sweetly dark smile, which soon became a chuckle of dark, cold laughter. "I knew you were cowards. Besides, even if you somehow changed your minds and decided the only solution would be killing her, Alaric and I will make sure you all are erased from existence before you lay a finger on her and ruin our plans."

"Why on earth do you need Alaric, Libitina?" Saladin asked. "At least explain that to us."

"Because, frankly, I can't seem to understand how you can put up with him," Ms. Faragonda. "Considering the fact he mostly plays around before getting the job done."

Libitina couldn't really argue on that motion, recalling how Alaric originally planned to capture the girl but ended up getting his ass beaten hard by her because he pushed her too hard with those annoying games he likes to play, and shrugged. "I will admit the idiot can be a big pain in the ass and annoying as hell, but Alaric proved himself to be very useless and worth something to me. If it wasn't for him, I would have never gotten the Midnight Raven in the first place. He knows how important this is for me, for both of us because we're both getting something from this. I get my power and glory back, and he gets back the girl he's madly and completely in love, who has him wrapped around her little finger. He'll tear you all limb from limb without even blinking if you dared touch the reincarnation of his love, and will stop at nothing to make sure the prophecy comes true."

"It won't matter then!" Nathalie exploded, not realizing how her anger was making Libitina's raven powers stronger. "Do not underestimate the girl, Libitina. Alaric made that very mistake, and we all saw how she taken care of him. She's far stronger than you realize, and is absolutely nothing like you."

"Nothing like me, huh?" Libitina repeated. They all nodded, and she laughed at that. "That's rich. That has to be the laugh of the year."

"It's not a joke!" Bloom yelled.

"You betrayed your friends, betrayed the good force of magic, went dark, and turned the magical universe into hell," Sky added. "All because of power."

"That may be true, little boy. That I will not deny. But I wasn't always like this. Didn't Nathalie tell any of you about Rosalina, the sweet nature fairy?" She put on a cute, sweet smile that was so incredibly fake, infuriating the friends because it was clear she was mocking Flora. "Didn't she tell you how I use to be exactly like Flora? So sweet, delicate and kind, and innocent. The kind of person who cares so deeply about her friends and family, and everything else in the world. The type of person far too kind and sweet to even harm a fly before she finally grew some backbone."

"Now was this so-called backbone developed after you became a cold-hearted bitch?" Brandon asked with a small smirk on his face.

Libitina glared at him with cold, narrowed eyes, glaring at him like he was an annoying pest who needed to be squashed quickly. Her eyes slowly glanced up at the ceiling, growing bigger and glowing an unusual, vivid red color.

Directly over their heads, an enormous piece of pitch-black yawned open, stretching forth and un-folding from itself until it became the largest black shadow they had ever seen that was more than big enough to cover the entire room.

"Dear God." Timmy gulped.

"OMG!" Stella exclaimed.

"Great sun, moon, and stars." Nathalie murmured in disbelief as she and the others stared at it.

An arctic gush of air blasted from its core, and the air blew fiercely into their faces while their bodies were being chilled by the frostbite.

Meanwhile, another curtain of black appeared underneath their feet and grew into a sea of darkness. The shadow was pooling around the ceiling as it was on the floor, dark tentacles were growing long like vines and dropped closer and closer to their heads.

While the dark tentacles were reaching their heads, the ones on the ground snaked around their feet and entangled around their bodies as it reached higher and higher. The shadow reminded them of a snake, the way it was crawling around them and the cold, nearly slimy touch as it brushed against their skin.

Stella screamed out loud as the ceiling shadow snaked around her neck and kissed the back of it.

"Stella, calm down." Brandon told her as he was trying to free himself from the shackles that were ten times stronger than iron. "This is not the time to panic."

"This is the perfect time to panic, damn it!" She yelled, and then screamed again as the other shadow was close to her mouth, closing in on her mouth. "The shackles are draining my powers. This thing is repulsive, cold, and slimy."

"Instead complaining like the spoiled, pampered princess you are, why don't you listen to your boyfriend and shut that mouth of yours," Riven snapped at Stella, who stuck her tongue out at him before she turned her head away from him. "This is not the time to start whining, so I highly suggest you shut that hole in your face before I shut it for you, blondie."

"Timmy, please tell me you have a plan?" Tecna asked.

"Actually…unfortunately no," he admitted with an apologetic, sheepish expression. "But I do know one solution we can do to help this problem. We have to think positive."

"Timmy's right," Sky agreed. "Heroes 101, in any situation, you have to do the following: think positive, remain calm, and most importantly…DO NOT PANIC!"

"They're right, Stella," Bloom said, ignoring the ice-cold, death glare Stella shot at her. "Panicking is not going to help anything. We just need to relax and-" She was interrupted as the shadows held a tight bound on her body, nearly covering her whole body up, and screaming before it covered her mouth.

Helia was struggling to break free from the shackles and squirming by the touch of the shadows' touch, like everyone else was. He looked at Libitina, who was watching them all and amused by their pain with a smirk on her face. Somewhere Flora was still in there, trying to gain back control. He had to reach that part of her. "Flora, try to remember my voice. It's me, Helia. Your boyfriend," He said. "I know in there, Flora. You can't let Libitina control you like a puppet. You have to fight her."

"It's pointless, sweetie," Libitina said to him. "Your little girlfriend is under my control now. But don't worry too much. Somewhere in my cold, black stone of a heart, she's perfectly kept."

Helia growled at her, completely beginning to understand why Nathalie hated her so much, but he wasn't going to just give up. He had to keep trying. "I love you, Flora. Your friends love you, we all love you. Can you honestly say you want to hurt us?"

_Sounds tempting_, she thought, opening her hand and igniting a flaming death-strike orb in her palm. She bounced the fiery ball up and down as she looked at her targets, including the pacifist looking a bit scared. She decided he would be her first target.

But as she whined her hand back, ready to throw, pain was shooting through her head and was practically hot as fire. The death ball vanished from sight, and she was down on her knees with both hands tightly gripping onto her head as she was grunting and groaning in pain. Because she was no longer concentrated on the shadows, they hissed as they slowly retreated back from where they came from, untangling their bound on the others who were trying to calm their beating hearts while sighing in relief. But the relief was put on hold when they saw an energy glow around Flora/Libitina, green energy from her Nature Winx was pooling around her head to the down her waist while black energy from the Midnight raven was pooling around her bottom half.

"No, not yet!" Libitina yelled to herself, opening her eyes, and they all watched the eye color switched back and forth between two colors, flickering back and forth to the cold red eyes belonging to Libitina and Flora's jaded ones, bright with warmth but wild with panic.

"You can beat her, Flora!" Helia said. "I know you can."

"Guys," The nature fairy croaked, gripping onto her head and trying to numb the pain while trying to fight Libitina. She aimed her magic at the shackles holding them, turning them into breakable bands of grass, which immediately broke because of their weight and they landed not so easy on the floor.

"You're just as strong as she is, Flora," Layla said.

"I'm trying to fight her….but the raven…Libitina…too strong." Flora panted, struggling not to lose it.

Helia ran over to hold her tight in his arms, but Flora didn't return the embrace and was practically lifeless in his arms.

Flora knew she couldn't hold Libitina back any longer or control the Midnight Raven. She hasn't realized she was crying till she felt a burning, stinging sensation in her eyes that was nearly blinding her vision with so much moisture and hot tears streaming down her face like a waterfall. She was shaking uncontrollably in Helia's arms, feeling the dark energy inside her flowing rapidly and nearly consuming her. She gripped onto Helia's shoulders tightly and said while she was practically sobbing. "I can't stop her…or it. They've gotten stronger, too strong for me to handle."

"Yes you can." He replied firmly.

"Please stop me, Helia, before I lose control and hurt someone," she begged. "Do what Julio did to Rosalina. Kill me!"

"Never," He scowled at the very unthinkable thought. He cupped Flora's face in his hands, trying to make her flicking red and green, wild eyes look at his. She was slipping away, that he could tell, and he needed to bring her back. "Flora, look at me. Look right at me and listen. I know you're scared, but we can help you. Let us help you control it."

A powerful, extremely strong jolt kicked it in her. It was so strong; they could all feel it and flinched. Flora's panicked, wild eyes glow silver before the silver color changed into red. Her eyes didn't look like eyes anymore, instead balls of glowing rubies. "I don't need any help." She said in a dark, venomous voice.

Helia's hands suddenly lost their grip on his girlfriend's shoulders, and he found himself being hurling toward the wall, crashing his left side hard against it.

"Helia!" Timmy and Helia's uncle helped him get back on his feet.

"Are you alright?" Saladin asked his nephew.

Before he could answer, a horrible, ear-scattering sound broke through the atmosphere. The sound was an extremely loud shriek, more loudly and painful to listen to than sharp nails scratching against a chalkboard. Everyone covered their ears to block out the dreadful sound.

Helia looked up and saw the noise was coming from Flora, who was standing tall with her arms spread out and her mouth open wide, where the noise was coming from.

The shriek wasn't only scattering their eardrums and nearly making their ears bleed, it also cause other things. The sound was so loud; it shook the earth like it was being hit by a powerful quake. The lamps and lights flickered on and off before they finally exploded; the windows break in through an explosion of glass, broken pieces splintering everywhere one by one, and they had to duck and quickly move away to avoid a painful glass shower while trying to keep their balance.

"Flora!" Helia yelled.

Air inside the room blew strongly and brutally like a tornado, whipping around them violently. Like a vortex. There was a surge like an explosion, slamming everyone onto their backs, into the walls behind them. Too many things were breaking or falling at once. Bookshelves crashing onto the floor, the portraits tearing apart and slamming against the walls, the glass containers holding the ancient artifacts scattered. The fire in the ceiling chandlers, which was wildly spinning, and in the fireplace grew scorning flames and were quickly spreading around the place.

The air vortex around the room tore up everything it touched in the room, causing more of a destroyed mess. Even tearing up the walls and pushing the doors open. Finally Flora gathered up all the brutal, arctic air and raised her hands over her head, pushing the gush of the wind toward the ceiling and blasting the entire roof off its' hinges.

Flora unfolded her raven wings and flew right up, out the building with the vortex following right behind her and breaking up into over a dozen, violent tornados doing their own share of destroying the school campus.

"We have to stop that girl before she trashes even more of the school." Nabu said.

"I don't understand," Timmy said. "I thought Libitina wasn't in control anymore."

"She isn't and I'm afraid neither is Flora," Nathalie explained. "The energy I feel now is not energy, soul- shifting between the two girls. It's the energy, the spirit of the Midnight Raven acting on her now. The Raven has complete control of her and now it's out of control."

"Oh my!" Tecna gasped at the same time Layla asked "So what are we going to do?"

"The only thing we can do. We have to take her down." Saladin answered.

The girls gulped and looked sheepish by what he said, but knew if they didn't do something, then things will quickly go from bad to horrible. The plan was for them to not completely hurt Flora, but to hit her hard enough to knock her down.

"I say it's Winx time, girls." Bloom said.

"Let's do it!" They cried in unison. Their powers were still weak from recovering from the power drain, but they were able to transform, but with some difficulties though.

Just as they predicted, things where getting from bad to worse.

Flora, back dressed as a witch in her red sleeveless top and black Gothic tutu skirt and darker brown hair with red highlights, was flowing high in the air. Her head titled back slightly, arms stretched out, and the Spirit of the Midnight Raven unleashed and looming over her. She wasn't conscious, but her powers were definitely, very much working and definitely, very much out of control.

Her fierce tornadoes were tearing up the whole campus, carrying some of the building debris as they spun wildly around and around. The elements-battering water, uncontrollable wind, scorning fire, and quaking earth-were united and adding more destruction. Battering water, which Layla was unable to control, battered the school by every corner and was practically drowning them; uncontrollable wind added more speed to the violent tornadoes and were so strong, things were being knocked down; scorning fire engulfed the school with brutal flames; and the earth was doing a perfect job knocking down everything in sight. As if that wasn't enough, her dark powers and telekinesis were definitely kicking into high gear.

Things, especially things weighting more than hundred pounds, were flowing like crazy before being hurled against something or someone, often a person used to be crashed against another. She opened her mouth, releasing black energy sticking onto the ground, right under their feet. The shadows hissed as they gathered up together, forming a wide sea of darkness and entangling people in their bind. Bolts, bursts, and blasts were being released by the raven's loud shriek, and every dark, powerful spell seemed to be taking effect.

The girls flew close to their friend, struggling to fight against the strong wind and dodging everything being hurled their way. But the closer they got to her, the more out of control her powers would get.

"So, what exactly are we going to do?" Stella asked.

"Well, it's pretty obvious talking to her would be out of the question since she's out conscious." Layla said.

"Maybe the fairy dust will help." Musa suggested.

"That's not gonna work," Tecna said. "The fairy dust works to heal and undo dark spells, and the Midnight Raven is not a dark spell."

"Then it looks like we'll have to make her listen to reason and do this the hard way," Musa said. "Sonic Boom!"

The spell froze mid-air before it reached Flora, then was sent crashing onto the ground. Musa was shocked by what happened with her spell while the others were busy hitting Flora with some attack spells on their own, only to watch them bounce right off her.

The raven and Flora began to move in unison, one of the same person. As Flora waved her left hand in front of her, the raven followed her movement with its' left wing while sending a powerful wind that blew the girls feet away from her, and five lightening-zapped balls appeared, looking to be charged with power. Then, with a vivid glow of Flora's eyes, the balls charged toward the Winx girls. The balls were as strong as they were powerful, weighting more than the combined weight of five bowling balls made from bricks and were harder than steel, electrifying the girls as it sent electric shocks through their bodies before knocking them right out the sky.

The girls landed on the ground and tried to ignore the pain as they got back on their feet, continuing to fire attack spells with some help from some of their classmates, the boys, and the teachers. Only to watch some spells deflecting right off her while most were caught up in the powerful wind tunnel.

"Alright, Flora. I'm sorry I have to do this, but you leave me no other choice. Dragon Fury!" Bloom thrust her hands forward and released a powerful blast shaped like the great dragon, watching it rush toward Flora.

A bolt of darkness sprouting from the raven's mouth sliced through the attack like a blade slicing through paper, then slammed itself against Bloom's chest, sending her flying into a boulder.

"Bloom!" Her friends called to her, only getting a slight sound crossed between a grunt and groan as a respond. They weren't entirely sure that meant she was in a lot of pain or was at least okay.

The raven power was really starting to spiral out of control, the elements growing fiercer, more violent, as darkness worked together with it to take down everything. Heavy rocks were being shot with fire before crashing toward the students, who were barely able to dodge it.

"We must take the girls to safety!" Ms. Griselda yelled out to the other teachers through the wild, disastrous storm. "There's nothing more we can do here."

The thought of actually leaving her school behind was something so wrong, it almost brought tears to Ms. Faragonda's eyes while it was sickening enough to make her want to vomit. But unfortunately, she saw she had no other choice. Students were barley able to handle themselves against this madness, some including a few teachers were badly injured while bruises were minor for the rest, and the school was now in ruins. Being charred with flames, parts being swirling around in the wind, and the building had very little left and were falling apart right before their eyes.

Griselda was right. There was nothing left they could do, and they needed to get the students to safety.

With a heavy heart, Ms. Faragonda turned her back away from the nearly destroyed school, pointed to the entrance/exit gate, and said loudly enough for everyone to hear her "This way, everyone. We have to leave now. There's nothing left we can do here."

"We can't just leave." Stella protested.

"We're going to have to, Stel," Brandon took her hand and followed the others to the exit, tightening the grip he had on her wrist and ignoring her protests.

The girls didn't want to leave Flora and the school like this, but they had to follow teachers' order and it would be wrong to define their headmistress. They helped injured students get back onto their feet, then led them to the exit.

Saladin was leading Helia toward the exit, but the young pacifist took one glance back at his beloved Flora. Unconscious, allowing dark power she was born with and never wanted in the first place take control of her.

He couldn't leave her like this.

Helia shook loose of his uncle grip on him and went off running back toward the school, running back to Flora while ignoring the cries of his friends and uncle calling him back. It was impossible to run with the wind blowing so harshly, nearly sent him flying back, and the earth shaking like crazy beneath his feet, making him fall down a few times but always got back up on his feet . Bolts of darkness, fireballs, gushes of water and air, and heavy boulders were sent hurling his way. It was mission impossible to dodge through all of them, but he kept his ground and kept on going, facing his obstacles head-on.

"Flora!" Helia yelled. "Flora!"

His shadow sneaked up behind him and grabbed him by the ankles, entangling around his body and sticking onto him like a second skin. He struggled to break free from it, but the more he struggled, the tighter the shadow would squeeze him. Through his squirming, he could feel the shadows lifting him up high off the ground, bringing him up to Flora.

Sure enough, he was face to face with her. Helia ignored the shriek, which was nearly making him go deaf by its' loud sound, and focused looking into Flora's eyes.

They say when you look into a person's eyes; you're able to see their soul inside. But when Helia looked inside those bright, crimson eyes, he wasn't able to find his Flora. All he could see was ice-cold darkness and nothing that showed anything that has to do with a soul inside those eyes, which was the exact essence of the Midnight Raven. It was intimidating and nearly impossible to look into those eyes, which were the soulless eyes of cruel death, but Helia refused to give up and had to look harder into them. He knew some part of Flora was still there, buried deep inside and he only needed to look harder for that part.

"Flora, listen to me. Try to listen to my voice," It was difficult to speak with his shadow clung onto him and slowly squeezing the life out of him. He took quick, deep breaths between his words, so he would be able to continue talking. "It's me, Helia."

Nothing showed in her eyes that recognized him, and the raven continued to wail its' extremely loud, blood-curling screech, causing more chaos to struck.

"I know you're in there, Flora. And I know you're more than strong enough to gain back control."

The fire finally consumed what was left of the school, burning it into a pile of charred ashes. When it was done with the school, the midnight flames leaped onto one of tree braches and it wasn't long before the fire spread around the forest. The students' screams increased more as more fire-blazed boulders were hurled at them, which they barely avoided getting hit by.

Helia knew the more words he was speaking, the more breathes he needed to take.

The shadow's grip on him was too tight for him to even move anymore, let alone breathe. He could feel he was starting to lose conscious from the dangerous lack of oxygen. But he had more things to say to her.

"You're not like her, Flora. You're not as weak on the inside like Rosalina. Unlike her, you have faith. You believe in yourself," He was starting to pant, his body feeling so cold and numb. His eye vision was getting blacker and blacker. "Don't make the same mistake she made. Pleas don't let history repeat itself."

Everyone watched in absolute horror as Helia took his last breathe, slowly closed his eyes, and his body went limp. Saladin screamed out loud bloody murder and was about to run over to him, until Brandon and Sky held him back by tightly holding onto his arms.

Something bright was gleaming inside Helia, shining vividly in a pure white color through the dark mane of the pitch-black shadow. The bright light was taking on a shape that was starting to look like a small orb, glowing in a clear white shade as bright as snow as it traveled higher and higher up, till it finally popped from his mouth and was standing in between a limp Helia and Flora.

The light of it was so bright; everyone had to cover their eyes to escape the blinding light. Through their squinted eyes, they were able to make out what the bright light was.

It was Helia's soul.

She sucked the soul from his body, and was planning to add it to the raven's power.

"Flora, don't!" Bloom yelled.

Flora and the raven glared down at Helia's soul with ravishing hunger blazing in their eyes. Flora opened her mouth, letting out a wail equally loud and eerie as the raven's sound and haunting, and the slowly was slowly moving toward her, close to being absorbed.

"NO!" Saladin screamed.

When the soul was only a second away from being absorbed into her mouth, Flora herself began to glow. She slowly bent down her head, and her entire body was beginning to glow a soft green shade, which was equally blindingly bright as Helia's soul, and warmth was flooding into her.

She was squirming, eyes closed, and when she lifted her head, she screamed loudly at the top of her lungs. Expect this scream didn't sound like the raven's scream, it sounded more like a girl screaming while she was finally able to gain back control.

"_STOP!_" Her scream echoed all throughout the place, loud and powerful enough to shake the earth. Helia's soul zoomed back into his body, and soon the young man was moving around a bit and fluttering his eyes open. He was released from the shadow's bound, and landed hard on his back as he was dropped on the floor.

At the sound of her scream, the chaos came to a halt. The flames were going down till they completely disappeared; the water sprouted high in the air, toward the sky; the ground finally stopped shaking, things hovering in the air came crashing down. The dark shadows, the fierce wind, battering water, all gathered up into one, huge tornado. Gathering up everything, including the Raven's spirit which was becoming part of the vortex, swirling around Flora, who was still screaming.

Finally the tornado singled into one bolt of darkness that shot up to the sky and exploded, and everything vanished.

She had won.

With her arms stretched out, Flora slowly descended to the ground, flowing down in front of Helia. Her eyes was were red and unfocused, boring into everyone, as she said in a soft voice still dark and loud enough for them all to hear, "_The Dark Angel was born again to spread mayhem and fear, to claim the entire universe as her own and turn each realm into the Devil's hell, where pain and misery will the be the only thing anyone ever feels and happiness will cease to exist, and she shall take her rightful place as queen of all hell and evil._"

She slowly closed her eyes again and opened them, quickly as they were crimson red they were back to emerald green. Helia slowly stood up and walked toward her, looking into her eyes that were filled with so much un-shed tears beginning to roll down her cheeks.

He caressed her left cheek before he brought her into his arms and enveloped her into a tender hug, letting her cry it all out on his shoulder while he pecked her head numerous times with soft kisses and stroked her hair.

Instantaneously, her friends stepped forward and joined the hug, turning into one hug of friends holding onto each other silently while comforting one who was lost in the deep depths of insane grief.


	12. Chapter 12

It almost would be crazy if she said she wished she couldn't remember what happened to her. It would definitely be crazy enough, but even if it was crazy, Flora desperately wanted that crazy wish to come true because learning and remembering what happened never failed to make her stomach churn nauseatingly.

She wished she didn't have to remember Libitina controlling her around like a puppet and doing such horrible things. She wished she could forget about how when she was able to gain control of herself, only later, she allowed herself to be at the mercy of the Raven and lost control of the power, letting it control her instead. She regretted how the power completely destroyed the school, tearing down the entire building and burning it down to ashes, then attacking the students next. She hated herself to what she done to her friends and how she hurt them, even though they all knew she wasn't in control of herself and they told her they weren't blaming her.

She was grateful for her friends' generosity, but no matter how many times they would say it wasn't her fault, she was never going to let it go. Either way, whether she was in control or not, she was being used as an instrument to bring pain to all of them. Especially to Helia.

Flora wasn't why, but Libitina made it crystal clear she wanted to hurt him the most out of all. It could be because he looked exactly like and reminded her of Julio, the man she loved more anything even when she went dark and betrayed him. It could be because no matter hard the dark angel tried, just like Helia told her when they were alone in the library, she couldn't _un-love_ him and hated that. Or it could be because in the end, Julio was the one who ended Rosalina's life, ruining everything she worked hard to get for the good of all. When Flora thinks back to what happened between Helia and Libitina back at the library, she couldn't help but think of more questions rushing to her head.

What Libitina said to Helia about not liking he was part of the repeated history, not wanting Flora to suffer the same thing that happened between her and Julio, how even though she played with both him and Alaric, Julio was only one who had a true claim to his heart. The tears spilling from her eyes as she looked at Helia, the passionate and hot kiss they shared before she told him straight-up she made the young fairy kiss Alaric and knocked him out. Was it all for show?

The tears spilling from her eyes seemed real, the words she confessed to Helia held such sincerity, and the kiss the two had definitely was real enough to make Flora tremble and her lips tingly from remembrance. Then again, Libitina could just be an excellent actress, who decided it would be so fun to relive her so-called glory days and have fun with a descendant of her past lover and one of boys she played with.

But that wasn't the main thing that kept Flora's head spinning with curiosity. It was what Libitina asked Helia: if he was possibly the reincarnation of her past lover, Julio. The resemblance between Helia and Julio definitely showed they were blood relatives and shared such a strong resemblance, but then again, her friends all look exactly the same as their past descendants. This meant she couldn't just pin down looks that showed they were the same person. But there was something else she needed to consider.

Unlike the rest of her friends-_former_ friends, Libitina didn't condemn Julio's soul into the raven's power, to be use as power supplies to make the power stronger. The moment his soul was only a moment from entering her mouth, Libitina then closed it and watched as Julio's soul rose higher and higher, up toward the ceiling before it disappeared from sight. She let his go, and the soul disappeared from sight.

The personalities between the two young men definitely were very much alike. Both were amazing artists and poets, whose art and poems were always so speculator; they didn't believe in fighting, but later ended up taking classes at a heroics school; and they both shared a common hate to a man one believed was the main reason his beloved changed while another never would back down to protect her from him. Flora remembered how almost instantly Helia hated Alaric right off the bat the moment the two were face to face, not even knowing who he was but was already ready to rip his head off with his bare hands.

That seemed more than enough to conclude the two were the same man she loved in her past live and now in present time. The more she thought about it, the more it almost explained things. The instant, undeniable connection she felt, which she was more than sure he felt as well, when they first met. Before that moment she was sure she never met him before, but when she looked into his beautiful blue eyes, he seemed so familiar to her and she strangely felt like she knew him all her life. Picturing so many things she had done with him, like running through the forest with him chasing her and kissing each other underneath an oak tree with her cheeks blushing bright red as they slowly pulled away from the kiss but held a tight grip onto each other, before she barely said two words to him and knew what his name was.

Was her Helia really Libitina's past lover?

If he truly was, then Flora wasn't sure whether this should be wonderful to know because it would be in some strange sense, fate was giving the two past lovers another chance to rekindle their love and the wonderful thing they had together, or absolutely dreadful to learn because would it mean they were destiny to let what happened to them in the past repeat itself in the future?

Flora looked up at her bedroom ceiling, wide awake early in the morning but was not entirely ready to get out of bed just yet.

Even though she was able to gain back control and stopped the power from causing more destruction, she wasn't able to save Alfea. Her school, which was more like a second home to her and her friends and classmates, was burnt to crisps with barely anything left. Ms. Faragonda granted the students four extra weeks to their spring break, giving them extra time off and return to their homes while she and teachers restore the school. The headmistress assured the young fairy it wasn't her fault, and the school would be back up and running by the time they would come back. Despite the assurance, it wasn't enough to satisfy the majority of angry parents who came to pick up her girls and believed Flora was a dangerous threat to the school.

"It's because of that girl, my daughter was nearly killed today," She recalled one furious mother saying to the headmistress while pointing an accusing finger at Flora, who received a dark glare from her.

"You knew the whole time this girl was the reincarnation of a witch," said another parent, who was familiar of the legacy of the Midnight Raven and the wrath of the Dark Angel. "You should have sent her packing the second you knew the truth and have her enrolled someone else. You should have had her admitted at Cloud Tower, a more suitable school for a girl like _her_."

"We demand you expel her at once!" shouted an angry father.

Like the great friends they were, the Winx and their guys had her back and challenged the parents who were dissing their friend. Nathalie even came to her defense, which was surprising because she seemed to detest her earlier before but was nevertheless grateful for her help, explaining as gently yet firmly to the parents they couldn't pin the blame on Flora because of her and Ms. Faragonda's neglect on telling her the truth a long time ago. Ms. Faragonda told them they were Alfea girls who stand each other through thick and fire, disaster and chaos, no matter what, and how they would never turn their backs on a fellow classmate.

So, now with her birthday, a day she was now starting to dread its' arrival instead of anticipating it like she use to do, coming up soon in only a matter of days and her school now reduced to charred remains, Flora was back at her good, ole home in good, ole Linphea. She remembered she and her friends packing up their items that wasn't completely destroyed by the raven's strike, which was very little, joining into one big hug and holding onto one another for the longest time, looking at one another and offering small smiles, making promises to call each other before departing their separate ways. She remembered her and Helia walking to the transportation station where she stood in front of the bus she was going to take him before she slowly turned back to Helia, whose expression was unreadable with his eyes expressionless.

He pulled her into one more tender hug, and she held onto him as tight as she could for as long as she can, feeling so lonely without his body warmth as he pulled away from her. It was pretty obvious, clear as crystal, he was hurt and infuriated by what happened between her and Alaric. The kiss which happened between them she regretted doing since, undoubtedly the most hated thing she ever regret doing in her life.

There were so many things she wanted to ask him, so many things she needed to tell him and needed to explain. But she could even speak, he silenced her by placing his finger firmly in a gentle matter against her lips and shushing her as he was able to read her expression and knew what she was about to do. He offered her a small smile and nodded his head slightly once, but the smile soon vanished as it disappeared when he slowly pulled his finger away from her mouth.

"I'm not mad at you, Flora. I could never be angry with you. I'm just…today really was… all I can say is it's not a day I'm never going to forget anytime soon." He sighed, trying to choose the right words to say through his frustration targeted at himself, while brushing her hair away from her eyes, letting his hand trail down to her cheek, where it lingered there for a moment and caressed her there tenderly. "Like I said, I can never be mad at you. But I won't lie to you and say I'm not honestly hurt. Whenever I think about how Libitina played with you like that, putting you on the spot like that, and that…_bastard_ touching you with those filthy hands of his and kissing you, it drives me insane. It makes me feel like I need to punch something, anything, so badly to drive out my anger and insanity, makes me want to find him and deliver the proper treatment he deserves."

"Helia…" It hurt her so much to see him like this, so hurt because of something she practically allowed happen involving someone she didn't particularly feel the same way he does for her and the same someone who makes Helia's blood madly boil. Before she could say another word, his finger was back again against her lips, shushing her.

"I need to answer this for me, Flora. And please don't hold out because you don't want to hurt my feelings. Did you feel anything for Alaric when he kissed you?"

Before she could answer, he added with a quick smile "Make sure to be sure of you answer before you speak. Use your heart to help you come up with the answer instead of thinking with your mind."

Flora tried to her best to remember the kiss with as much detail as she could, recalling how very strange and scary Alaric's kisses were extremely similar to Helia's, both so perfect with never-ending passion and gentleness added into it. She tried her best to free herself from the kiss, but Libitina decided it would be fun to respond to the kiss, how she was kissing him back and soon moaning when the kiss deepened. The way Alaric kissed her was like he practiced kissing over hundreds of times before kissing her, making it absolute perfection. There passion and such hotness in the kiss, it sent chills right down her spine and trembled her soul. It was rough yet gentle at the same time, passionate and hot, sexy and perfect.

Except…

No matter how hot or sexy the kiss may have been, Alaric wasn't Helia. It was plain and simple as that. Nothing, not even a kiss like that, could come between what they have.

Flora looked into Helia's blue eyes, which were patient and still not showing what else he was feeling. "Libitina thought him kissing me would help bring back some more lost memories, and they did. It was scary the way he kissed me, because it was almost the same way you kiss me. It was passionate, rough but gentle, so very hot. There was lust and love in the kiss. It was nearly impossible not to pull away from it, nearly impossible to find any difference between your kisses and his. But then I remembered you. I remembered how much I love you and there's nothing that can ever change that, remembered how I'm practically killing you with that kiss, and realized I could never and would never want to hurt you like that. Then, I finally found one, small difference in the kisses," Cupping his face in her hands, she leaned in close to him and said softly in a clear, firm voice. "He isn't you, Helia. He can never come close to you." She placed both his hands against her chest, where her heart was beating, and fixed them to be shape into her heart. "You're the one who will ever have a lock to my heart, the only one who will ever have such a powerful touch on it like you do. You're the only one for me, and you're my true love."

He was still for a moment, drinking in the words she just said to him and taking a few moments to take in what she told him. For a moment, she feared he didn't believe her, watching as his expression grew more somber. Soon that fear was put aside when she saw the genuine smile on his face, and when he smiled, she smiled back at him.

He pulled her into one more hug, quickly kissing her cheek and murmuring he loves her in her ear, before sending her off to her bus and waving her goodbye when the bus took off.

So, now she was back at her beautiful nature-habitat home, Linphea, where she was going to stay for about two or three days, before she and her friends head off to Sunnyvilla Paradise to celebrate her birthday week. Her mom and little sister were a bit surprised by her early visit, but welcomed her back with open arms and kisses. She and her sister did practically everything together when she was done un-packing her things. They went riding on their horses, Winter Rose and Autumn Rain, took long walks around the place while talking about everything and filling each other what was going on with them, and going for a swim at the lake behind their house.

It was weird to say things were a bit awkward between her and her mom. She wasn't mad at her mom for not telling her the truth, but she wasn't going to lie and say she wasn't hurt. She knew telling your daughter she was the reincarnation of one of the most powerful, darkest witch to ever live wasn't the easiest thing in the world, but it would have been a bit easier to learn the truth from her mom earlier than find out about it later from a recently new teacher, headmistress, and some guy from the past who's in love with her and also obsessed with her.

Because her head was filled with so many thoughts and was spinning wildly, Flora decided the only thing to help clear her head was taking a swim at the lake.

She finally got out of bed, went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and taking an early shower, and then went back to her bedroom to change out the rose pink cami top and matching shorts she wore to bed last night and into a white midriff tank top and an pair of denim shorts she wouldn't mind getting wet.

She tiptoed down the stairs of her two-story house, careful not to be so loud and wake up sleeping family, then went out to the back to the lake.

Flora took a moment to study the calming water, nearly forgetting about her troubles and getting hypnotized by the amazing view. She walked over to the edge and hesitantly stuck her left foot in the water, immediately flinching and pulling her foot back when she felt how cold the water was. It was much cooler than she expected it to be, but thought she was being ridiculous and acting childish.

She took in a deep breath, and then just leaped in. The water was so cold when she first touched it, but was surprisingly warm when she jumped in and got her entire body wet. She dove underwater and stayed there for a moment, listening the sound of the water ringing in her ears and the rest of the world seeming to be over a thousand miles away.

When it was time to finally get some air in her lungs, Flora slowly floated back up to the surface and took in deep breaths. She started with a butterfly stroke, a swimming move her dad taught her when she was still very small and her favorite move to swim, and swam around the entire lake innumerable times, occasionally dipping underwater and doing some water tricks Layla showed her and the other girls when they went to the beach, losing count of how many times she was swimming and losing track of the time.

Swimming was such a good way to help her clear her head, such a relaxing way to get away from it all. She would have by swimming longer if she wasn't interrupted.

"Flora!"

Flora stopped swimming for a moment when she heard her name being called, and turned her head back to the front of the lake, where Rose was waiting for her there with a small smile on her face, holding a towel and dry changing clothes for her.

"Rose," She swan back to where her sister was waiting, and Rose helped her out of the pool. She shook her body dry and gathered up all her hair in both hands, squeezing it as hard as she could to get all the water out. "What are you doing here, sweetie?"

Rose handed her the towel and looked away the opposite direction, giving Flora a few minutes to get herself dry and changed out of those wet clothes. "Mom wanted me to find you because it's breakfast time, silly. When I saw you were at the lake, I brought you a towel and changing clothes so you wouldn't be cold and wet."

Flora smiled at her sweet sister, pecking her on the cheek. Rose may be young and small, but she was as sweet as honey and such a smart little girl, who Flora was proud to be called her sister. In most sibling relationships, it seemed required for brothers and sisters to hate each other and be a pain in the other's butt. But it was completely different with Flora and Rose's sisterhood. For as long as she could remember, Flora has always been the big sister looking out for her baby sister since Rose was brought home from the hospital, always making sure everything was okay. They were each other support teams, tight as friends and sisters could be, and always have each other's backs.

Mostly dry and changed out of her dripping wet clothes, Flora let Rose hop onto her back and piggy-backed her all the way back home, laughing along with her sister as she went faster.

"Morning mom." They said to their mother, Lilac, who was cooking breakfast in their small kitchen. Every time Flora would look at her mom, she would thinks she was looking at a reflection of herself. Her mom was in her late forties but looked young enough to be in her early twenties, had golden brown hair that was long and nearly reaching her butt, flawless tan skin kissed by the sun and beautiful green eyes the shade of marvelous deep-jaded eyes. It was pretty clear Flora took after her mother while Rose took after their late dad. Like their dad, Alexander, Rose has short dark blonde hair and a fair complexion always smooth and looked creamy.

"Morning my little flowers," Lilac had flour powered on her cheeks and on the tip of her nose, some of it and grease splashed on her favorite pink apron, and her morning hair looked anything but fabulous. She pecked her daughter on both cheeks, getting floor on their faces and laughing as they pulled away and tried to wipe it out. "I hope you girls are hungry."

"Starving!" Rose groaned while Flora laughed, because her sister always claims to be hungry even after she ate. They helped their mom set table, and took their usual seats, sitting across from each other while the seat on their right was reserved for their mom and the one on the left was empty. "I hope you made our favorites."

"Don't I always?" Her mom teased. "I went all out. We have my famous fruit salad, your favorite double chocolate chocolate-chip pancakes, scramble eggs with my other famous biscuits, and vegetarian bacon."

Breakfast was wonderful and delicious, which wasn't surprising to their mom who was a great cook, and it was wonderful to watch the sunrise with them. But Flora couldn't shake the feeling there was something off with her mom. The way she was staring at her with those unreadable eyes, there was something definitely off.

Which was why Flora was very uncomfortable being leave alone with her mother while Rose went to go play with a group of friends at the park, helping her clean up the kitchen and wash the dirty dishes.

"Is something wrong, mom?" Flora asked her. "You've been acting strange?"

Lilac smiled wearily at her older daughter, but said nothing more as she finished washing the last plate and putting it in the cabinet with the rest, then went to the outside to their patio deck, sitting on the back porch steps. Flora watched her mother go, wondering whether or not she should follow her, and finally joined her out on the patio. Her mom held onto her hand, giving Flora another weary smile and squeezing her hand tight.

"Mom, what's the matter?" Flora asked.

She sighed as she let go of her hand and turned her gaze to the sky, where the sky was clear blue and the sun was shining down on them. "Just thinking about stuff. Stuff, for example, a mother telling her daughter the truth about her heritage, so the daughter wouldn't find out the hard way."

So, that was all this was about. Her mom was still feeling guilty about the whole Libitina thing, not telling her the truth earlier. Flora tried to convince her it wasn't her fault, since she knew how hard it would be for her.

When she told her this, Lilac shook her head with that weak, weary smile on her face. "But it is, baby. If I told you the truth in the first place, then none of this would have happen."

"Even if you told me the truth, Mom, Alaric still would have found me either way. He would still stalk me, trying to make me like him and convincing me to let Libitina go. Still try to bring harm to my friends, and play those sick games of his," Flora quickly filled in her mom on the rest what happened, like when she and Alaric had a almost tender moment in the forest when she found out the truth about being the reincarnation to the infamous dark angel, the dreams where the universe was destroyed and meeting Libitina face to face, losing control of herself when Alaric and the Trix Witches try to hurt her friends and classmates, and lastly how Libitina took control of her for the most part and how the Raven power spiraled out of control. Even though she finally gain back control, the damage was already done. Mostly everyone was hurt in the chaotic madness and Alfea was practically nothing anymore. "It's my fault, actually. I almost thought Alaric wasn't as half bad as he appeared to be, thought there was an actual part of him that was gentle and caring, and nearly fell for it. I let him kiss me when I already have a boyfriend who I love and care about more than anything, I let Libitina control me, and I let the Midnight Raven control me. It's all my fault. I'm surprised you and Dad even wanted to still keep me after learning the truth."

Her mom pulled her into a tender hug while she gently stroke her hair, a loving motherly gesture she has been doing whenever she and Rose were greatly upset about something and needed a hug to comfort them. "First off, I _never_, ever want to hear you say that again. You hear? I never want you to say such nonsense like that."

"But mom-" Flora was silenced by the stern look her mother gave her.

"You didn't let any of this happen, Flora. You were just a poor, beautiful little baby born into this big jumble of a mess," Her mom answered. "The only reason those things happen are because your birthday slash the day of the prophecy is coming closer and closer. All of what of is happening is warning signs announcing Libitina will soon be here. When you were born, Flora, the first thing that came to your father's and my mind was we have to do absolutely everything within our power to protect our daughter. You were our miracle, Flora, Libitina's reincarnation or not, and we were proud to be your parents. To give you shelter, nurture, and love. And I will be damn before I let that demon come to take you again."

"Again?" Flora repeated, confused. _Alaric met me before?_ She thought.

Lilac sighed again when she realized there was really a lot she needed to tell her daughter. Kissing Flora's temple and holding onto her tight, her mom looked up at the sky, her eyes distant and miles away as they were swept away in memories. Flora could see there were speckles of sadness weeping in her eyes. "When you were four years old, one of the cutest little toddlers I ever seen before, your father and I decided to take you to the park for a family picnic…"

_Little toddler Flora looked up at the sky as she was laid on her back, lying on the red and white checkered picnic her dad set out for her, stretching out her hands as far as she could, so she could touch while her feet were wildly kicking her legs, trying to see if she could touch it. _

"_What are you up to, flower petal?" Her parents joined her on the soft blanket, her mom bring out the packaged and wrapped food and her dad lying beside her, looking at the sky and watching the way she was trying to reach for it. _

_Flora giggled at her dad, for being so silly and not knowing what she was up to. "I'm reaching for the sky, daddy. I try to reach it, but I can't. How come?"_

_Alexander laughed his daughter's cuteness, chuckling even more by the serious expression in her eyes. Ruffling her hair, he answered "Because the sky may look like its close, but it's really far away. So far away, you can only look up at it."_

"_Mommy says fairies have wings and are able to fly in high. I can't wait till I grow my fairy Winx and start flying."_

"_And what do you plan to do when you grew your Winx?"_

"_Fly of course, silly!" She answered in a 'dud' tone, rolling her eyes but doing it with a smile on her face. "I wanna fly so high, so I can reach the sky, and then use my powers to help all nature."_

_After lunch and playing games with her parents, Flora's wondering eye spotted a beautiful, vivid blue and pink with black spots butterfly fluttering around a bush of roses in different colors, her favorite flowers. The butterfly was so beautiful to look at, seem fun to play with. She promised her parents she wouldn't go far, nodding while they explained for her to listen to the voice of nature when she's uncertain about things and be careful, and then she wasted no time going after the butterfly. She approached it slowly, not wanting to scare it off, and slowly stretched her left index finger toward it, offering the butterfly a place to rest. _

_The butterfly moved away from the rose bush and fluttered around her, finally landing on her finger and spreading out its' beautiful wings. Flora hesitantly brushed the wing with her finger and was surprised the butterfly wasn't flying away from the sudden touch. _

_The butterfly then flew off her finger and zoomed down a narrow path, far away from her parents. She remembered how she promised she wouldn't go off too far, but she loved playing with the butterfly and she had the voice of nature to help guide. She followed the butterfly down the narrow path, then went left when she saw the beautiful creature made a left, and into a clearing where the butterfly, instant changing into a solid dark color deep as black, landed on the railing on an old, wooden bench. _

_Where a young man was sitting at, stroking the right wing of the butterfly while looking right at Flora. _

_Little Flora remembered her mom teaching her words to describe someone who was very good-looking. Beautiful, pretty, handsome. This man was really, extremely the best-looking man she has ever seen before. He looked older than a teenager yet younger than an adult, falling in between the category, and looked so beautiful with his curly blonde hair, so pale it was almost white, his face reminding her of a beautiful portrait of a beautiful angel she remembered an artist painting when she and her mom went for a walk on the boardwalk, and eyes so dark, they were as black as midnight. _

_She knew it was wrong to be staring at him, but she honestly couldn't help it nor could she pull her eyes away from his gaze. He was really so beautiful to look, so beautiful she felt like she even shouldn't be staring at him, but it wasn't only his beauty that made her continue to look at him. There was something about him…she couldn't put her finger on it, but she felt like she has met him before. _

"_Child!" the grandmotherly voice of nature whispered in her ear, its' gentle tone more urgent. "Be caution and get as far away from him as you can. He's a demon disguised as an angel. He's the devil's child. Run!"_

_Flora knew better than to not listen to the voice of nature. She had to get away and fast. She then realized as she was trying to get her legs to go, she couldn't move them at all. Her feet were stuck to the ground, her body suddenly parlayed, and she saw she couldn't make words come out from her mouth, which she was able to still move. _

_She was spelled. By the young man, who nature warned her to get away from, walking closer to her and getting down on one knee when he stood in front of her. He smiled at her, which was an odd smile because it looked to be both gentle but also very evil at the same time. _

"_Hello, there," His voice matched his face, smooth and attractive but at the same time wicked and dark. "My, aren't you just an adorable little girl?"_

_She wanted to make a comment then, but she couldn't get words to come out from her mouth, so the only thing she could do was to stare at him. She didn't even know he was touching her till she felt a cool hand rubbing against her right cheek, and she was shaking (either shivering or shuddering, she couldn't tell which). _

_He slowly pulled her hand away from her cheek and held it in front of her, offering her to take it. "Come with me, child. I can give you everything you ever wanted and much more."_

_Trying to look away from those midnight eyes was impossible to do, for they had her under a powerful trance, and thinking about refusing his offer seemed silly to do. She found herself slowly nodding her head and reaching out to his open hand, noticing the dark gleam in his eye and his smile widening into a big grin giving her creeps when she looked at it. _

_The man's hand was suddenly loose from her grip, his body sent flying against a strong oak tree, knocking the tree all the way down as he was hit by a bright pink power blast. _

_Her mother was suddenly gathering her in her arms, holding her tightly in one arm while she used her free hand to lit up another power ball in case the man was prepared to fight, and her dad was standing in front of them with his sword pulled out and prepared to fight. _

_The man simply shoved the fallen tree off him, even though it weighted far more than he did, and walked toward him, his arms behind his back and his smile becoming more vicious. "So, you're the parents of this beautiful little girl? Well, it's pretty clear to see where she got her stunning looks from." His eyes lingered on her mother, his head moving slowly down and back up as his eyes traveled around her._

"_You come one step toward my wife and daughter, so help me-"_

"_You're Alaric," Her mother said, not asking a question but making a statement, interrupting her husband's rant and slightly surprise. "You're just as my mother and grandmother describe you. A beauty that has the attractive looks of an angel, charming as a serpent, and has a black-stone heart of the devil."_

"_So, I'm famous in your family?" He raised an eyebrow, obviously pleased. _

"_Of course. For over eight hundred years, generations and generations of my family passed on the legacy of the angel of darkness," Her mother answered. "The man who was there as her sidekick and plaything, helping her spread darkness and mayhem throughout the universe. You were the keeper of the book till you let her have the power, and then spent centuries searching for her reincarnation after her death. After searching for years, finding four descants who share her resemblance and only to find out they're not her, your search has turned up nothing."_

"_You seem to know so much, don't you, Lilac?" She stared at him, baffled, wondering how he knew what her name was. "True, after searching for over eight centuries, I manage to find four descendants who could pass for her reincarnation. But sadly they didn't. I almost lost hope I would never find her until four years ago, at precisely midnight, I felt a powerful surge of the great power awakening again. The place where it seemed it come from was a hospital room right here at Linphea. I knew if I came here, then I would surely find what I've been searching hundreds of years ago for. And I did."_

_Making the power ball disappear from her hand, the mother wrapped both arms protectively and tightly around her little daughter, scowling at the man standing in front of her. There was no way in hell she would allow him to take her. Absolutely, never. "How do you know I'm not her, then Alaric?" She challenged. "Mother use always to tell me I can pass as her twin."_

"_True, you do seem to resemble my queen very well, but I'm afraid you're not exactly her. Your eyes are a shade of two lighter than hers, hair not exactly the same, and the fact you were not born the same day and time she were proves you cannot be her," He answered. "Your daughter on the other hand seems to fit the description just right."_

"_Are you insane, demon?" Her dad exclaimed. "__She's only a child."_

"_Again, that is very true," He sighed, but didn't seem to be that much disappointed. "But whether she is a child, baby, or young woman, the fact remains I can feel the great power pulsing through her veins, slowly growing stronger. I plan to make sure she's well taken care of, so things will go smoothly."_

_It was pretty clear to her parents what he planned to do: take Flora back with him to the hell-pit where he has been living at for the past centuries, raise her like an older brother and teaching her how to become an evil witch, no doubt fall in love with her over the years and hope she will return that love, and have her fulfill the prophecy. If he thought for even one second they would allow him to take their daughter, then it was pretty clear Alaric was far crazier than they thought. _

"_Either you hand over the child willingly or I simply will have to take her by force," Alaric demanded. He didn't want for their reply, and was already shooting a blast of negative energy right at her mom. _

_Her dad quickly stood in front of her and deflected the attack with his sword, hurling it right back to Alaric, who unfortunately dodged it. As he rushed toward to fight the angel-disguised demon, her mom slowly put Flora down and placed a bright pink protective barrier encircling around her, reaching over her head. _

"_Mommy." Flora tried to reach for her mother, but her hand could only touch the barrier. Her mother placed her hand against the spot where Flora's was at and smiled both sadly and gently. _

"_This barrier will keep you safe from harm, little one."_

"_What's going on? Is daddy gonna get hurt?" she asked, on the verge of crying. "I'm scared."_

"_Don't be. I promise you, Flora, we will do everything in our power to make sure you're safe."_

_With that being said, her mom gave her one last smile and went back to her dad, working side-by-side with her father to fight Alaric. Her mom was a mature, wise fairy with much experience with her ability to control nature and her dad was a skilled-fighter, but even working together, they could see they were no match for Alaric. He was easily deflecting her attacks and breaking out from the vine and branches wipes she had around him, and threw off Alexander's swings off balance. He knew he was easily winning and he loved it. _

"_I honestly cannot tell you how easy this is for me," Alaric smirked, after tossing Alexander to the ground and aiming another power blast at Lilac, which she was barely able to miss. "So easy, it simply bores me. I can easily rip the hearts out from both of you and ate it whole. And you both know that. So, why not just give up?"_

"_That is never going to happen!" Lilac roared, aimlessly firing all the power balls and blasts she could possibly do, flinging painful thrones sharp as knives toward him, and kept firing and firing till she was exhausted and was down on her knees, panting hard. _

_When she slowly looked up, she saw smoke clouding around the area where she aimed all her power at Alaric and slowly sighed in relief when she was sure he was gone. But the relief was cut off short as Alaric made his way through the smoke, walking toward her, and smirking at her stunned face. _

"_You might want to work on your aim." He said. _

_Stretching his left hand up to the sky and his black eyes glowing bright onyx, the bright day suddenly darkened into a gloomy, cloudy storm at his command. A clap of thunder roared in the sky, and bolts of lightening tore across the sky, frightening Flora who was shaking in her shield. One of those bolts of lightening was collected into Alaric's open palm, growing bigger and fiercer and powerful. _

_Turning back to Alexander, who was slowly getting back up, Alaric smiled coldly at him. "I wasted just enough time playing with both of you. And it's not hard to say you're quickly becoming bores to me. You know, there was a famous saying Devil use to tell me. 'The perfect way to bring someone true misery and pain is to aim right at the heart.' Kill the person who meant the world to someone, and you're also killing them mentally. Your daughter is far too cute and precious for me to even think about hurting her, so it's only unfortunate I'll have to do away with your beautiful wife."_

_He whisked his hand toward Lilac, firing the lightening which grew stronger and powerful as it rushed toward her. Her mom was too shocked by the lightening to even move a muscle, practically paralyzed, while Flora was screaming out for her. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and prepared for death, praying to God to protect her daughter. _

"_NO!" In a mere moment, just when the bolt was about to strike at in the heart, Alexander leaped right in front of her and taking the hit for her. The instant the spark made contact with his skin, the lightening wasted no time electrifying him and burning his flesh. His loud, bloody screams were barely heard from the roaring fire frying his legs and reaching up to his thighs. As he landed on the ground, he tried rolling around on the grass in hopes it would extinguish the fires, but only seemed to make it even more badly. _

"_DADDY!" Flora yelled at the top of her lungs at the same her mother yelled equally loudly "ALEXANDAR!" _

_Alaric glared down at the fallen and burning man in front of him, shaking his head slowly while smirking at the very typical act of kindness he just committed. "So, unimaginable predictable. I wanted to see if you would really take the burst for your wife, and it turns out you did just like I thought you would."_

"_Damn you, bastard." He said, groaning through his pain. He was too tired, too numb to even scream anymore, so he just panted hard while the fire was burning him badly. _

_Ignoring that comment, Alaric smiled pleasantly like Alexander gave him the most brilliant idea, and said, shrugging "Since you want to so desperately die, then I will gladly give you your wish. Say hi for me to the guards of the pearly white gates in the sky."_

_He had another burst of violent lightening he was planning to throw right at Alexander's face, but before he could aim and fire, his body was still frozen and covered in black energy that was clinging onto him like a tight second skin, which was tightly squeezing with its' bone-crushing bear hug._

_His eyes glanced up to meet the emerald green ones of the beautiful, little girl, watching in shock as her eyes slowly glow vivid red and were shining like priceless rubies, both extraordinary beautiful and frightening to look into. Her hands were glowing with the same black energy holding him, and there was a fierce, unimaginable fire in her red eyes he thought he would never see in a child so young like her but was actually starting to be alarmed by it. _

"You will leave them ALONE!_" The instantly, ear-scattering loud shriek in her scream made the ground beneath their feet shake violently, cause the fire burning on her dad to slide off his body and surround Alaric, who was screaming loudly that she didn't care to pay attention to, and with a bright, frightening glow of her terrifying yet brilliant blooded eyes, he was sent crashing straight through five oak trees and finally hit his head hard against a boulder rock. _

_He was bleeding and badly wounded, and groaned as he slowly leaned on his elbows to support his weight, looking up at her. Her mom rushed over to her dad to cast healing spells she hoped would cure some of his injuries, which were very serious bruises and critical, and they both were looking at her speechless. _

_Stretching out her hands, the shield her mother placed around her for protection instantly scattered into millions of tiny pieces by the simple movement the child made. She ignored the shocked looks her parents were giving her and only focused her attention on the man she planned to make him seriously pay for all that he has done. _

_She whipped her right hand, and he was flung into another tree. Balling her hand into a tight fist, she flung it to her right, and watched as he groaned in pain by the mental blow, clutching onto his stomach. With her hands stretched over her head, a ball of powerful, incredible energy growing bigger and bigger with each passing second, she fire it at him, which knocked him head-first through over several trees and knocked the wind out of him. _

"I can't tell you how shocking it was to see our little girl fighting like a powerful sorceress, but considering how young you were to be handling as powerful and dark as that, we weren't sure it was a good thing." Lilac said. She looked at Flora, who wasn't meeting her eyes and looking down at her bare feet.

Flora didn't know what to say. She was too shocked to even speak. She actually met Alaric when she was just a little kid, barely old enough to understand anything, and let him lure her to him with that butterfly he used as bait, and was the reason her dad was badly burnt that day.

"What happened next?" She asked when she finally found her voice.

Her mother explained after that little yet powerful power act, Flora just collapsed onto the ground, probably from exhaustion caused by the power. After that, Alaric slowly got himself back up on the feet and looked down at little Flora, slowly stroking her hair once before moving on. Her mom said because Alaric didn't want to hurt her like he did before, he didn't kill her father like he originally planned. But that didn't mean he let her dad off the hook that easily.

Her dad's bruises were serious, but her mom was able to numb some of the pain with the most powerful healing spells she knew. The bruises were scripted onto his legs, looking like birthmarks, and he lost the feeling of his legs that day and was paralyzed. Alaric not only cost her dad the lost of movement to his legs, he also placed an ancient illness spell over. The illness would be like cancer, deadly and impossible to cure, gradually weakening his body till there was nothing left and killed him the moment his heart stopped beating.

Flora was appalled to learn this new information about her father. The subject of her dad was something she hasn't exactly shared with her friends, expect for Musa since they both know what it's like to lose a parent. For most of her childhood she recalled her dad moving around in a wheelchair, trying to put on a brave face for his family but was obviously weak on the inside, till he died when she was nine and Rose, who doesn't remember their dad all that clearly, was barely a year old. She knew her dad died from sickness, but she was appalled to learn her dad was killed by a sickness someone spelled on him.

"So, you mean…the reason why he died was because of me?" Flora croaked, barely able to control her voice as she placed both hands over her mouth, trying to breathe through her shock.

"No, baby. Of course, not!" Her mother gently said. "I was the one who should have done something when Alaric fired that lightening at me. I was the one who should have immediately taken you away to some place safe. If it's anyway fault, it's mine."

When she saw Flora was still unconvinced and close to crying, Lilac pulled her into a hug and squeezed her gently. "Did he suffer?" Flora asked.

Lilac didn't want to sugar-code the truth, but at the same time she didn't want to put too much on her daughter's plate. "Being a father to you and your sister and spending as much time with you two for as long as possible helped mend the pain for awhile. He never blamed me for what happened to him, even though it was clearly my fault, and the last words he said to me was a famous quote he has said countless: _'Whatever happens, happens. Things were meant to happen for a reason.'_"

"Whatever happens, happens. Things were meant to happen for a reason." Flora remembered her dad telling her that quote innumerable when the unexpected would happen in a complete surprise. It was the vide and motto he loved to live by. Hearing that expression, which hasn't been said in such a long time, was almost like her dad was saying them to her again, whispering the words in her ear.

Flora held onto her mom tight, and the two watched the sun and sky in comfortable silence till Rose returned from fun-time with her friends, and the three of them were hanging out like the close family they were.

Later that night, Flora looked up at the beautiful, midnight night sky from her bedroom window. She made a vow to herself that night.

She promised she would make Alaric pay dearly for what he had done to her dad and every other horrible thing he has ever done. She would also make Libitina pay, too, since the fault was also hers, too.

_No matter what or how hard it takes, I'll make sure that destiny will never happen_, Flora thought with determination.

_We'll see about that, little puppet_, Libitina smiled coldly in her subconscious, and then laughed a wicked laugh in one breath.


	13. Chapter 13

The witches knew better than to say a single word after their humiliating defeat. It was still incredibly shocking to them that Flora-the helpless little flower pixie who they thought couldn't even defeat herself against a tiny bug-had that much amount of insane power and kicked their butts. Including Alaric's, who honestly did not look like a happy camper when he transported back to Lord Darkar's hangout.

Wordlessly, without even taking a look at them since they left those pixies alone at the forest, Alaric took a seat at Darkar's throne. He snapped his fingers, and a lit cigar he very much needed at the moment appeared in one hand as a flask of strong, blended whiskey appeared in the other. He took in a big breath, deeply inhaling huge amount of smoke, and titled his head back slightly to blow a huge stream of smoke into the air. The smoke was so musky and thick, the witches were practically choking from the smell of it, but he ignored their silly coughs and continued to inhale and blow. When he was finished with the cigar, he snubbed it in the chair's arm to put out it and tossed it carelessly on the ground, and then took a swing of his liquor, chugging down more than half the bottle without stopping in half than ten seconds.

"Look dude," Darcy said. "I know you're upset things didn't go exactly the way you planned, but there's really no reason to be all mopey for."

"Yeah. We beat those Winx girls before, and we'll beat them before," Stormy added. "So, there's really no need to drink yourself into a coma."

"It was only a fluke that allowed that bubbly, goody-goody two-shoe pixie to beat us." Icy scowled, angry with how easily Flora was able to beat them.

"Tell me about it," Stormy frowned. "I still can't believe a power as powerful as the Midnight Raven belongs to that little helpless bitch."

Alaric let out a howl of anger, impossibly increasing in volume, impossibly expanding through the now-sudden silence of the place.

The witches, who never felt fear before, were flat-out terrified of Alaric's raging rant. They have seen Lord Darkar and Baltor angry before and gotten an unfortunate taste of it, but their displays of anger couldn't even come close to comparison with the terrifyingly infuriation Alaric was howling out. His howl was twenty times fiercer, more beastly and violent than the combination of a mad dragon, bear, and tiger, and nearly shook the place with its' loud shriek. When he looked down at the witches, they saw his eyes changed.

Usually whenever they looked into those eyes, they saw the cold-hearted, smug attitude of the Devil. This time, the smug devil was gone from his eyes. Instead, inside those eyes were nothing but deadly and showed the same beastly insanity of a demon hunger for blood.

Darcy and Stormy hid behind Icy, who was even shaking in fear herself.

"Unless you value those pitiful lives of yours and wish to see tomorrow, I suggest you shut those filthy mouths of yours." He roared in a dark, coldly venomous voice identical to a dangerous demon, no longer sounding like man. He snapped his fingers, and Lord Darkar's disgusting-looking pets walked from the shadows, looking more disgusting yet dangerous than they last saw them, baring their razor-sharp teeth. "Let this be your first and final warning, witches. Defy me in any way or if I even hear one negative being said against Flora, these pets will have fresh meat on their plates: witch flesh and bones. And believe me, ladies, I have fed them all with powers you can't even imagine. Understand?"

They were too scared to even speak, so they just nodded.

"Wonderful then. Now be gone with you and return your rooms. The sight of you now sickens me."

He didn't even need to tell them twice. The witches were already quickly fleeing from the throne room before he could even finish saying the last sentence. Alaric sent four monsters to guard their rooms while he made the rest disappear, ordering them to keep a close eye on the witches and not to let them leave till their service would be required again.

Left alone, a frown darkened his face. He took a look at the liquor bottle in his hand, which was now empty, practically crushing it by the tightness in his hand balling up into a fist, and swung it across the other side of the room. The throw was so strong, it punched in a huge dent in the wall and shattered into pieces, breaking like glass, but that didn't seem to calm down his anger. Then again, nothing really could.

The humiliation, the disgrace those witches display, the way she stuck back at him with the power and hard slaps still painfully throbbing his cheeks. He broke the most valuable code he lived by: never underestimate your opponent. He didn't underestimate those annoying Winx pixies and their buffoons of boyfriends, including that damn blue-haired pacifist, whose head he wishes to rip off and swallow whole, because he knew they wouldn't be too hard for him to handle and also knew-or rather, thought-the witches would be able to easily dispose of them if he increased their powers. Only now he could how wonderful that worked out. But it wasn't those pixies and buffoons keeping his head spinning in circles with innumerable.

It was the girl.

The moment he saw her walking that Saturday afternoon to the train station, listening to her humming to herself with a smile on her face (before she sensed she was being followed), he knew with a loud pang shooting through his heart, it was _her_. He saw her once before, but that was only when she was a small child. Seeing her now, going from a precious cutie to exquisite beauty, he almost believed he was back in time and was face to face with his darling Rosalina. The resemblance, the personality in her as he studied her before revealing himself to her, she was exactly his queen.

There were numerous things he wanted to do when he saw her: talk to her, hold her in his arms, caress her cheek, and kiss those sweet, angelic lips of hers. He wanted to take her away with him, but first wanted to give her a good scare and sample of who she was. He still wanted that when he met at her again at Red Fountain, telling her who she was, again at the forest where she was crying and he was giving her comfort while he told her the full story of the magnificent legacy she left behind in her previous life.

He recalled how she feared he would cast a love spell on her, so she would believe he was her true love. He won't lie when he says he was tempted to do it. There were over a dozen powerful ones he knew that were irreversible and can easily be spelled on her without her even knowing, ones that would make him a god in her eyes. But…if he was to do that, then she would only feed him adoration because of an affection enchantment he placed on her, most likely being her puppet and giving him fake love, something he scowled at and never wanted from her.

Playing around with her seemed to be the only thing he could do with her that wasn't fake, the amusement he gotten from knowing he was pushing her buttons. He only pushed her because it was something he used to do to her all the time when she was Rosalina and thought it would help bring back some memories.

He didn't believe she was frail and weak, but he couldn't look pass the delicate beauty of her face and innocence in her eyes. He should have realized that was the same mistake people have made before both in the present and past, even though he knew fully well inside that delicate innocence, there was a spark of fire inside her fierce as a tigress. But he couldn't stop playing his games. He had too much fun pushing those buttons of hers, wanting to see how far he could push her till she finally snaps.

Only now he could see, and his body could feel, the consequences of his actions.

It never occurred to him she would be able to use the great power against him, never thought she could get that angry since she seemed like such a peace-making girl. She was able to do it once a long time ago when he first saw her again as a child, but then he believed it was only because a slight fluke.

Alaric carefully touched his lips, which were still tingling from the kiss he had with her. He had no intention of really hurting her, but he was glad the kiss happened because it would hopefully show her the damn blue-haired hero's kisses aren't the only ones that can make her alive.

She had to trust her like he trusted Rosalina.

Trust…that word caused his mind to go through memory lane.

He recalls the night of prom at the Alfea school, he was lurking in the shadows while his heart was racing like the speed of light when he saw how lovely Rosalina looked in her beautiful pink dress, and his body shaking in anger the way Julio was looking at her and holding her delicate frame close to him. Watched him pull her away from the dance, sneaking into a quiet nice of the forest, where he proposed to her.

Seeing the sight of the five-carat ring, Alaric remembered wanting to tear the pacifist limb by limb, yell that Rosalina was _his _and his alone whether she was aware of this or not, but he reminded himself innumerable times to remain calm as he continued to watch him.

He hoped, silently begged, and even prayed Rosalina wouldn't make a foolish mistake, wouldn't actually considering marry a buffoon like Julio who couldn't protect her and love her the way he does, but she surprised both men by saying yes to the proposal.

"_Yes." She whispered to Julio, tears spilling from her eyes and causing her black mascara to run like streaks down her cheeks, but the broad smile on her face lit up her whole face. _

_Julio looked at her shocked, as if he didn't hear her or was in shocked by her words like he was. But sooner or later, he was able to get over his shock and a smile similarly big and happy like Rosalina's spread across his face. He immediately bounced back on his feet, swept Rosalina into his arms while sweeping her into a passionate, mind-blowing kiss the two were hungrily engaged in as Julio spun her around. _

_The sight was so sickening and revolting; Alaric was more than tempted to gag his guts out. Even if he did to that, the couple wouldn't have noticed since they were too busy wrestling with each other's tongues and swabbing spit as they were practically consuming each other's faces. He waited till the disgusting kiss was finally over, watched Julio slowly pull those nauseating lips away from her angelic ones and murmur sweet things to her, and then waited till he was walking into the building. _

"_So, should I refer to you as Mrs. Julio Bastard-like now?" He asked. _

_Rosalina was too busy gazing admiringly at the five-carat diamond shining on her finger to even pay attention to him. Her back was turned to him, and her eyes were continuing to gaze at that cursed ring. When she finally pulled her eyes away from the damn thing and turned toward him, her sweet and happy smile turned into a smug smirk he used to give her when she saw the unpleasant, furious expression on his face. "Jealous, are we now?" she asked with an amused twinkle in her eyes. _

"_I think you already know fully well the answer to that silly little question," His cold, pale hand reached down to caress her cheek, ignoring her shuddering and relishing with the soft feel of her skin, and his hand trailed down her right arm, down to her hand. He then grabbed her wrist in a tight grip, ignoring her cries of pain and protests to un-hand her, and showed her the diamond ring on her finger, fighting the great urges he had to rip it off from her finger and smash it to pieces by bringing his foot down on it with a good, strong stomp. "What is this?"_

_With a wincing cry, Rosalina finally freed herself from her grip and snatched her hand back, tenderly rubbing her wrist that was throbbing from his tight squeeze. "I don't know what devil has gotten into you, but that's hardly the way to treat to a lady," Her hand lashed out, and she poured all her body and anger into that hand as she used it to slap him across the face, watching the way his head snapped to the other side. He slowly turned his face both toward her, blood rushing to the spot where she slapped him extremely hard, with a scowl on his face. He was mad, but then again so was she and she didn't let it bother her. "To answer your question, it's an engagement ring. I'm engaged to be married to Julio."_

_It took every ounce of his well-being, every ounce of self-control he had left in him not to put that miserable excuse of a wanna-be, doesn't-even-want-to-be hero out of his misery. "You're actually considering of marrying that buffoon?" he asked harshly, his smooth voice cold and deadly. _

"_That would basically explain the ring on my ring." With her left arm rested on her hip and a frown on her face, she showed him the ring once more, silently enjoying the anger blazing wildly in his eyes. He has always loved teasing her, and now it looks like the teaser has become the tease-ee. _

"_You're making a mistake, do you realize that?" That didn't sound like a question, more like a statement. _

"_Really?" She asked, not even bothering to cover up the sarcastic tone in her voice. "Please enlighten me then. Why am I making a mistake?"_

_Alaric's scowl turned into a smile, but it hardly looked like a smile since it was so tight and dry. "I'll make this as plain and simple. He doesn't deserve you, doesn't see you the way I do, and shouldn't even be allowed to look at you in the first place."_

"_Well, then it's a good thing it's _my_ choice and not yours. You have no right to say who I can and can't love or marry. What honestly gives you the right to say to decide things for me?"_

_He didn't say anything and looked down at the ground, refusing to meet her eyes. Rosalina shook at her head at him, turned her back on him, and started to walk away till he grabbed her arm and yanked her back to him. "Because I love you."_

_Alaric watched the anger, frowning expression on her face evaporate into pure shock and surprise. It was now Rosalina's turn to be silent and look down at her feet, avoiding eye-contact with him. She slowly lifted her head up, avoiding eye-contact with him, and said "Well, that was definitely something I didn't expect to hear. But…I'm sorry, Alaric, that still doesn't change things. I still love Julio and he loves me."_

"_He may love you, but what he feels for you can't even come to comparison with what I feel for you." There was something so sad in his voice, a thing she has never heard in his voice before, _

"_Then…the only thing I can tell you is that I hope you will find another girl." She told him._

"_What would be the need for that when I already found the girl of my dreams and who I know is the one for me?"_

"_Well, for one thing this supposed girl's heart has already been captured by another, and she is already happily taken."_

"_Even if there's someone else who feels the same way for her the other man does-maybe even more. What if she's missing out on something she might like better? Something that can give her happiness."_

"_Julio gives me all the happiness I want and more. I'm…I'm…baffled and shocked by your confession, but I already know who I want," She had nothing left to say to him, so she turned her back on him once more and walked away. This time he didn't stop her and watched her go, his heart breaking into painful bits tearing piece by piece. But before she was two feet away from him, she turned her head slightly back._

"_Unless…you can do something that will maybe change my mind."_

_Alaric's eyes popped at her surprised words, wondering if she was showing an actual change of heart and choice of whom she loved or if his ears were just hearing things his mind was making up. He saw the way Rosalina turned her upper body slightly back, so she would turn her head more toward him, and he realized (though with foolish hope) he would go with second reason. "Unless what?" there was a pitiful sign of pleading in his voice, making him sound like a child begging for extra candy, but he could barely pay attention to that when fate decided to let him have a choice. "How would I be able to show you I'm a much better suitor for you than that dim-witted bastard?"_

_Rosalina let out a breath, but it sounded almost smug, like she was chuckling at a private joke she thought of herself, as she slowly walked back toward him. "You remember telling me about the Midnight Raven?"_

"_Yes." He said slowly, nodding his head as he arched his left eyebrow suspiciously. _

"_Tell me, Alaric, how powerful is it? Exactly"_

"_The power it has is more than you ever imagined and absolutely unlimited. Hundred and fifty percent more powerful the great Dragon Fire. Anyone who is blessed to have possession will be the most powerful being of all time and will so strong, no one or anything else will be able to get in his or her way."_

"_Really?" He nodded, his suspicious eyes still watching her and wondering what exactly was she up to, and Rosalina continued "You believe I have the right qualities for the power to be mine?"_

"_Without a doubt in my mind," Alaric said with no hesitation. "Unlike the sinister seven, you have things they don't. You're very ambitious, though that is something I have noticed you don't usually show around your circle of friends, you're not as easily-naive and foolish like they were, you have great potential that can take you extremely far."_

_She nodded when she drank in what he told her. When she was face to face with him, Rosalina actually did something bold she had never done before to him: she lightly pressed her fingers against his chest, at the exact place where his heart was. He was immediately stiffened by her touch, and he noticed something crossing on her face. Her lips curled up into what should have been be a small smile, but was overshadowed by the secretive smug he could read into which made it look like a smirk she managed to make look so innocent and twisted at the same time. _

"_Then, it's quite simple then," she said. "The thing you have to do to show me you really care for me as you claim to do is get me the power. I cannot tell you how sick and tired I am of my friends, even Julio, thinking I cannot handle myself. With that power in my hands, no one will dare think of me as a helpless, little girl."_

_Alaric took a step back, his eyes still locked on hers and seeing the innocent yet twisted smirk on her face widened, wondering if his eyes and ears were playing mind tricks on him. Something about Rosalina changed, and he wasn't sure whether this should be alarming or something very…attractive and appealing. "Say I did show you where the book was at and the power did accept you. Then, how exactly am I going to be so sure you're not just going to get with you wanted without doing your side of the deal? Lying to me right now and plan on using me?"_

_Rosalina let out another breath, this time he could tell it was laughter and it sounded smugger, colder than the last one. She smirked at his shocked, questioning expression, gotten so close to him that there was barely any distance between their lips, and entwined both her hands around his neck. Acting bold again, she slowly with dramatization brushed her lips against his, teasing him brutally by allowing him only to have a sample of the sweetness from her mouth. "You will simply have to trust me. You do trust me like you claim to love me, don't you?"_

Alaric was taught since he was practically born to believe trust was something useless and pointless, that it was a pathetic virtue which can easily be the death of you if you depend on someone else to help you, to no doubt be betrayed in the end. He believed in the great motto "Trust no one," a famous quote he has lived by since today.

Till Rosalina came into the picture.

Sure, he has had his share of many love interests and affairs with beautiful women in his past over twelve thousand years, but those women were barely even worth remembering, more likely dead to him, and those romances were created simply from boredom because…he was tired of being alone. The minute he was first in Linphea, planning to cause mayhem like he was born and taught to do, the very second he spotted a delicate yet beautiful goddess standing in the front of rose bushes and smiling as she deeply inhaled the sweet scent of the flowers, something inside changed. There was a strange yet warm tingly sensation rippling inside him, which to this day he wasn't sure it should be considered disgusting or not, his whole body-mostly his knees-felt like they were shaking like mad, and a single pang in his heart throbbed like a mad explosion.

He knew right then and there, something he never in million, billon years would be even remotely possible happened that moment.

He had fallen in love.

She was so beautiful, so lovely, he wondered if it was even possible to look that breathtaking but she was living proof. He followed her around for weeks, luring in the shadows so he would remain undetectable and learning possibly everything thing there was so know about her. The more he learned about her, each time he saw that extraordinary, breathtaking face of hers, he was falling more and more in love with her.

He tried everything he could think of to make her feel the same way about him that normal makes women swoon: buy her favorite flowers with a box of chocolate he left for her, surprise her by always being right there behind her when she would turn around, and making remarks about her stunning beauty. Only none of those worked.

Even when he finally told her how he felt about her, she still was un-moved and was about to walk away till she suddenly came back and said there was really one thing he could do to prove he really cared about her: helping her get the Midnight Raven.

That night, something changed in the both of them. Rosalina somehow that night became very…suspicious…that would be the only word he could think of how to describe her, along with sneaky, and he that night, the first time in thousands of years of living among the up-world, he did another thing he never thought was possible.

Given trust in another.

Trusting the girl he cared about more than anything else he ever has in her life and giving her something she wanted that would make her the most powerful being of all time were the only two things he could show her she really meant everything. That was something he did with no doubts, something he never regretted to this day.

Alaric slowly got off his chair and went down the hall, heading straight down and nodding at the monsters guarding the witches who were far better trained than those three, and stood inside the last room. He unlocked the door and stepped inside the room, locking the door as he shut it behind him.

Every single inch of the big room was covered and covered with Rosalina's beautiful face, items belonging to her collected inside shelves. Every picture, drawing and painting and sculpture he has made of her was pasted on the wall. Standing in front of him was a full length mural he painted himself and was one of his favorites of her wearing her favorite white, strapped-dress and holding a red rose in her hand, standing in the hill of the forest, her hair flowing in the air and a delicate smile was on her face.

He placed her hand against the painting's right cheek, slightly smiling as he pretended it was her real cheek.

Rosalina could have him do anything she wanted or needed, simply because he was obsessed with her like everyone says, wouldn't hesitate to do anything for her, and she had him completely wrapped around her finger.

_You will be mine, Flora_, Alaric thought. _Just like you were over eight hundred years ago. _

Turns out the reason why she doesn't remember what happened almost fourteen years ago was because while she was resting after using the power for the first time, after her mother carried her back home while she used her magic to levitate her paralyzed father, her mother did a spell making her forget about what happened and wiping her mind clean of the event/tragedy. Her mother planned to tell her about that day, along with who she really was and the prophecy, when Flora would come home again for spring break and it was a few days before her eighteenth birthday.

That was the _original_ plan her mother thought would be the best for Flora to be aware of the truth. Unfortunately, for Lilac, what she hoped would happen didn't go according to her original plan.

Flora was shocked and nearly overwhelmed by the revelation. The more her mom talked about what happened, Flora would see more and more flashes of what took place speeding through her mind. Herself as a little girl catching after a butterfly she wanted to play with. Alaric using the butterfly as bait to bring her to him and offering the young girl his hand, spelling her so she wasn't able to move and asking her to come away with him. Her dad and mom coming to her rescue, her dad trying to fend off Alaric with his sword and her mom placing her inside a protective barrier, then joining the battlefield to help her dad fight Alaric. Alaric smirking, knowing he had a great advantage in the fight and loving it. Her dad taking the burst of lightening for her mom, whom Alaric intended for the lightening to hit in the first place, screaming in pain and his legs being roasted by the fire the lightening sparked. The anger she felt toward Alaric and fighting him back.

It was shocking to Flora how she was able to feel that much anger toward someone and use the Midnight Raven for the first time. She used it to fight against Alaric, who didn't stand a chance against her, and took him down hard even though she was far too little back then to even understand what was happening to her, what the future and fate had in plans for her. Knowing this should have given her satisfaction.

If she hadn't blacked out after that, maybe she would have been able to use the dark power to undo the ancient illness spell Alaric placed on her father before he mysteriously disappeared that day. If she listened to her parents and stayed with them instead of following that butterfly, then she would have never met Alaric. If only she ran away the second those deadly, midnight eyes came into view, then none of this never would have happened in the first place. If only-

She stopped herself there when she found herself in a deep pit of self-despair and hate. She realized she was making a long list of 'If' possibilities she wished that did and hadn't happened. Sadly, no matter how long that list may be or how much she wished something changed in the past, even a insignificant event like her family going on a picnic on another day, the fact still remains what happened in the past happened. There was nothing she could do to undo what has happened, and the only thing left for her to do is to keep moving forward.

One thing was definitely clear.

She hated Alaric with all her heart and soul, with every ounce of her possible being.

In all her life, Flora has been taught to look at things she didn't like as only insignificant distastes she didn't need to spend so much time and energy mustering a strong emotion for. She only had a short list of things she really hated she could count on one hand: the Trix Witches, dark magic and spells, people who didn't realize how precious nature was, and destruction. Destruction was on top of the list, followed by the witches, because with destruction, you get: chaos, war, blood-shed, innocent people getting their lives taken away. Those were things she really couldn't stand, but none of those dislikes came even close to the full-out, raging hatred directed at Alaric.

Alaric was far more evil and reckless with malice playing a part in it than the cold wickedness in the stoned-hearts of Lord Darkar, Baltor, and the witches combined. Only someone truly evil and heartless could live with himself knowing he has taken another's life.

And not just any other life. He took her father away from her and her family. Alaric already taken away her dad's ability to walk when the fire his lightening caused badly burnt them, but cursed him to live with a deadly sickness, making him skinner, brutally and slowly weakening him till his heart finally gave out. Her dad more than often spent more time in his bed, making sickening wheezing sounds and wincing in pain with each inch he moved within his body, than he has with his daughters. Thanks to his condition, he couldn't take walks on the beach or in the forest with her mom like he use to, couldn't go on family picnics, couldn't spend that much time father/daughters time with her and Rose. He spent so little time with them, Rose barely even remembers her dad except seeing him as a sickly weak, nearly creased man lying in bed.

_I HATE YOU!_ Flora screamed in her mind, hoping Alaric would be able to read that thought and weep like she has for the past four hours since she locked herself in her room. She lay on her bed and stared up at the ceiling, her body and mind overwhelmed by the new information involving her dad and practically dying from the exhaustion.

Finally she closed her eyes, and she was lost in the sea of dreams, sinking lower and lower into the wide ocean.

"_I understand-or at least trying to understand- you are upset about what Alaric did to your father."_

_Flora thought for a moment she was still awake till she looked down at herself, seeing she was dressed in her mini light blue nightgown, and looked around the room. She was back in the same pitch-black with full-length mirrors placed everywhere she turned. She was in the place after that night at Red Fountain, which at first seemed wonderful but later everything went downhill the moment Alaric made his appearance, ending her with unconscious for a long period of time after Alaric got all the information he needed. _

_The same room she was at where she first saw Rosalina in one of the mirror with a crack sliced right in the middle, a reflection different from the others since she was dressed differently and seemed to be a in a deep sleep till she slowly opened her eyes. _

_This time in the dream, the mirrors were all blank and Flora didn't see any other of her reflections except for the one with a slight crack in the middle of it, standing right in front of her, the only reflection in the entire room of mirrors wearing her nightgown but her face void of any emotion. _

_Rosalina's mirror. _

_Flora took time to look at her twin, feeling once again shock flowing through her as she looked at someone who looked exactly like her but was absolutely nothing like her now. If Flora wasn't wit with observance, she would have been naïve enough to believe she was looking back at her reflection. _

_However, there was something strange with Rosalina. _

_She could feel dark aura pouring from her, but her eyes and the expression on her face were different from the last time she saw her. Flora has adapted into looking into those infamous, cold crimson eyes and the cruel smile promising nothing but brutal pain, it was so odd seeing Rosalina changed her eyes back to their former emerald shade that didn't show any coldness or dark humor. Instead they looked like they were trying to understand, trying to look sympathize while her facial expression was blank and unreadable._

_Flora frowned at her words, knowing Rosalina could never understand what it was like to lose someone you cared about. The ones she did care about long ago were slaughtered by her and had their souls damned to a horrible eternity as prisoners inside the dark power. So it was crystal clear she could never understand. "Right, like you honestly know how it feels?"_

"_But I do."_

_Flora laughed despite herself, but only because she couldn't find any other way to react by Rosalina's doubtlessly false words. "Right, Rosalina. I'm so sure you know exactly how it feels like."_

"_What part of '_I do'_ do you not seem to understand?" Her patience was starting to quickly thinning, and there was slight angered frustration from having to repeat herself._

"EVERYTHING!_" Flora exploded, no longer pointlessly laughing because she was through with the games Rosalina was up to. She was tired of it. "You wouldn't understand it at all, Rosalina, because you traded your heart and soul for a soulless, un-feeling, and cold as stone and dark as midnight _shell_! All for power! Greedy power. You killed thousands, nearly close to millions, of people, including those who use to care about you before you betrayed them. You slaughtered every single one of your best friends whom you use to saw as your sisters, then condemned their souls as power supplies for the Midnight Raven, which was sucking them dry to the bone. You betrayed the man you loved and killed him, hating yourself for not being able to get rid of the feelings you felt for him. For all I know, your family might have even been the first victims you killed."_

_If looks could kill and the girls weren't two halves of the same person, Flora would be long dead and lying on the floor. Rosalina's eyes were still green, but there was unbelievably bone-chilling as the coldest ice imaginable and narrowed into harsh slits, her lips thinned in a firm, straight line, and her arms crossed against her chest. _

"_You seem to know so much, don't you?" Like her facial expression, her voice was ice-cold and down-right deadly._

"_I know so." Flora snapped._

"_Hardly." She smiled a dry, tight smile while her eyes were still cold, deadly slits. "Out of curiosity, Flora, how much do you actually remember about your former life?"_

_Not even waiting for her response, Rosalina continued, "Don't ever bother answering. I already know the answer just by looking into your face. You get some memories in your dreams, some in random flashes. But it's clear you still haven't regain your full memory," This time she was the one laughing, chuckling a bit despite herself because she found the whole thing to be so odd it should be considered funny._

_She instructed Flora to close her eyes and leave her mind completely blank and calm. Flora arched at her eyebrow, wondering what she was up to. Rosalina sighed when she saw that look, shaking her head with a roll of her eyes, this time demanding she do it._

_Looking at Rosalina one more time, Flora glared harder into her eyes to make there wasn't any deception in them. Unable to find any, she slowly inhaled a deep breath as closed her eyes. _

_A hardened pressure sank deep in her chest, throbbing with pain as the pressure grew more intense, nearly burning her lung as the pressure spread throughout her chest, making her feel like she was trapped in a tight cocoon quickly squeezing the oxygen out of her. Her head was spinning faster than ever before; zooming in rotation so quickly she felt it was close to exploding. White flashes were quickly flickering around in her vision in too many places at once, making her feel so dizzy with each burst of light. _

_She gasped in grateful gasps of much-needed air as she finally opened her eyes to escape the madness, down on her knees and looking down at her hands, panting hard. _

_Whatever happened to her was now bouncing off on the mirrors. The full-length grew tall enough to reach the heavens above, widened in length and came together so they could connect, forming into one big circle of mirrors surrounding her. _

_Rosalina's mirror was the only one still in place while the others were spinning around and around so fast, it hurt Flora's eyes to even look at them. Flashes were quickly flickering on and off on the mirrors, deflecting off one and bouncing onto another._

_Those flashes were images or moments. _

_Memories._

_A man who was a slightly younger, taller, and darker-skinned version of her father was dressed in a black tux and about to be married to a beautiful woman in her dream white, wedding dress, a stunning version of her mom. _

_The married couple a few years into the future, settling into their home and new lives. The man was holding a little girl baring a striking resemblance to Flora when she was small while the mother was carrying an adorable baby girl looking so like Rose when she was an infant. _

_The couple arguing again in another flash, the mom looking awfully pale and sick as she was seated on a chair and knitting. She continued to either to knit quietly or yell back at the father, whose face was bright red as he was screaming right in her face. After yelling for two hours straight, he walked away with a loud slam, never to return again._

_Fast forward a few years later. Rosalina at the age of fourteen and her barely five years old little sister were dressed from head to toe black and holding each other's hands in a tight grip as they looked down sorrowfully at their mother's grave. _

_Rosalina dressed casually in a simple dress with two suitcases in her hands, walking onto the Alfea campus for her first day of freshmen year. She and five other girls, who Flora knew right away were her friends' past relatives were all too busy gazing around the school to even notice they were walking right into each other till they collided and their things were spilling from their bags, onto the ground. The girls looked at one another, blushing slightly and smiling a bit sheepishly, till they burst into laughter. _

_Rosalina sitting on the edge of a hospital bed where her little sister was lying on, whom was the unfortunate victim of a deadly plague, suffering the same pains their mother went through. Her sister was pale in the complexion, temperature rising past 107 degrees and getting higher, eyes so heavy and could barely keep open for more than a second or two, and was too weak to even move a muscle. _

_Rosalina and her friends laughing with their arms linked through each other's as they took a stroll through Magix. _

_Rosalina dressed in black once more, this time with no hand beside her to hold her hand, as she stood in front of another grave. Tears were spilling from her eyes like heavy rain in the sky. _

_Rosalina lying on her stomach in her bed in the dorm room, her face buried in a pillow and weeping of the tragic death of her sister. Her friends right by her side, sitting either on chairs close to her or on the bed with her, trying to bring her comfort. _

_Julio pulling her into a comfort embrace, resting her head on his shoulder as he laid his chin on the crown of her head. She was grateful to have a shoulder to cry on, and the tears just spilled from her eyes. _

_There were too many flashes, too many images and memories flashing through the mirror glass. Her head felt like it was full, too overwhelmed with so many images and memories filling it up. _

_The final image was of Rosalina in a brown cloak, kneeling in front of the shrine and opening the ancient spell book imprisoning the great power. She recited the powerful spell, unleashing the power and the one becoming one with her. _

_After that imagine, something Flora really didn't need to see was, the blindingly white flashes quickly one by one faded into nothingness. The mirrors shirked back to regular size as they came apart, once again scattered all over the place. _

_Rosalina was the only thing-person who seemed to be in tact. She eyed Flora carefully as the young fairy steady on her feet as she slowly stood up, looking a bit green in the complexion and more than uneasy. "So, I'll take it things went will?" she asked, couldn't erase the slight smile on her face as she silently chuckled at her joke. _

"_That was-how did-those flashes-on, my head!" Flora was lost at words, unable to know where to start. She placed her hand against the left side of her head where she felt a painful throbbing kicking inside. _

_Chuckling a bit to herself, this time the laughter sounding almost… warm, Rosalina sat criss-crossed on the floor, and Flora found herself acting as a reflection as she mirrored the movement without any hesitation. "You could say the little flash slideshow were recap of memories. Many memories you are only beginning to remember with much more to come. Did you regain full memory yet?"_

"_Not exactly," Flora confessed. "But I know more than I did before you-about myself."_

_Rosalina chuckled quietly to herself when she saw Flora go cross-eye for a moment. "It's okay if it's a tad confusing for you. I say it's best to refer present things as yours and things in the past as mine."_

_Flora nodded, thinking that would be better. "It's weird how really similar our families were. We had started out with both parents, ended up with our mom raising us, and had a little sister."_

"_Indeed, it's weird," Rosalina agreed, her un-cold eyes became hooded as she was lost in deep thought. Lost in her memories. "Yet our families are entirely different. For example, unlike yours in the present time, my mother soon was sickened after mistakenly devouring a poisonous plant and it was impossible to treat. This illness became too much for my father to handle, so he left."_

_Flora's heart then went out to Rosalina and her family, recalling in one of the flashes the man yelling at his sickened wife and then leaving. Leaving without even saying goodbye to his daughters, walking out on their lives forever. "I'm sorry."_

_There was slight confusion in her eyes, and Rosalina shrugged. "No reason to be sorry. My mother, sister, and I were able to get over it. Why bother caring for someone when they don't have best interest at heart?"_

_Rosalina went on explaining more about her life. Because her mother was so sick, Rosalina spent most of her time caring for her little sister, Haley, whom was very much like Rose in both looks and personality. Soon after their mother's death, she placed her soon-sickened sister in the hospital in Magix after she had gotten infected by a deadly plague spreading around, constantly checking up on and visiting her as she did her studies at Alfea. Unfortunately, at the age of nine, Haley died in her sleep, lying peacefully on her hospital bed. A week before Rosalina's eighteenth birthday. _

_Flora could now clearly see Rosalina knew what it was like to lose the people you care about. She felt so ashamed of herself to doubt her. _

"_And then there is the death of my friends…"Rosalina mused. _

"_What are you talking about?" Flora asked. "You killed them, Rosalina, and then damned them their souls as prisoners inside your power."_

"_And you think I honestly enjoyed that?" Flora was hesitated with an answer and Rosalina shook her head, disapprovingly. "When I had the power of the Midnight Raven under my control and became the angel of darkness, I knew already exactly what and how I was going to do with my new powers. I was going to became a queen, nut not just any queen of any realm. I was going to become the queen of the entire universe, who no one will dare challenged. I also knew who I was going to spare and keep safe, which were my friends. I never wanted Luna, Chelsea, or the others to be entangled with the destruction I was leading. They were my friends whom I care about like family, so I spared them the times we met on the battlefield. The last we met, I warned them if they got in my way, I wouldn't show them any mercy. They are the ones who rebel against me, so they paid the price with their lives. I never wanted to kill them, _any_ of them. Take my advice and value the time you have left with your friends. You never know when they're going to gone."_

_With that being said, Rosalina took one last, searching look at Flora, turned her back to her, and started to walk away. _

"_Rosalina, wait!" Flora called out. "There's something I have to ask you."_

_Her back still turned to her, Rosalina turned her head slightly back and said "Is this about the possibly of Helia being Julio?"_

_Flora stared at her stunned, and a satisfied smile blossomed on Rosalina's face as she said "I'm inside your head, Flora, and know your thoughts."_

"_Do you think he's really him?" Flora asked. "Besides his looks, he seems exactly like Julio. He hated Alaric the instant he met him, there was such a strong connection I felt when we first met, and…I saw flashes of you and Julio in the past."_

_For the longest time, Rosalina said nothing at all. Her eyes were locked with Flora's, but there were staring without really looking. "The day I had the power, I gave up on emotions. I refused to feel anymore and just take what I want. I tried to forget about what I felt for Julio since feelings seemed so…useless and it was fun having him and Alaric wrapped around my finger, but I could never get rid of it. Killing him, betraying him, causing him pain was something punching me constantly in the gut. I do believe fate has decided for love to rekindle again and your Helia really is my Julio. The only question I wonder is will you two suffer the pain like we did. Is fate trying to give former sweethearts a chance of love or make the painful repeat of history happen again?"_

A/N: What do you think guys? Is Helia really Julio? Is fate giving former lovers another chance at love or a painful repeat of history? Thanks for the awesome, and hope you like this chapter.


	14. Chapter 14

It's been two days since Flora had spoken with Rosalina in that dream, the first conversation they had that should be considered civil and where Rosalina acted like her former self again. The girl who used to care, who was so much like Flora till she let her jealousy and craving for stronger power take her over and was the caused of her ruin. She kept what Rosalina said before the dream ended close to her mind and locked deeply in her heart.

If Helia was really the reincarnation of Rosalina's Julio, does that mean fate was giving the two former lovers the chance to rekindle their love or was the painful events of history set to happen again?

As usual whenever she has a problem, Flora always goes to her friends for advice. Last night she put her friends on a six-way phone call on hologram view, and they gave her words of advice and comforting words.

"It's sounds so romantic when you think about it," Stella mused with that hopeless romantic look on her face they've seen countless times on her face. "Think about it, dahlings. Lovers who were the fault of each other's death, given another chance to get back what they lost. It's like Romeo and Juliet."

"Right," Bloom said. "Except Juliet didn't betray Romeo and fool around with Paris like Rosalina did with Alaric. And they didn't die because of each other; they died to be with each other."

"Which again is sooo romantic!" Stella was too caught up in her love fantasies, she didn't notice her friends were either rolling her eyes or shaking their heads.

"I think Stella is right," Tecna said. "To me, it seems pretty obvious Rosalina regrets what she had done to Julio and her friends. She was too blinded by the beauty of having such powerful magic and glory; she didn't realize her mistakes till it was too late."

"I think Tec is right," Musa agreed.

"Me, too," Layla added. "Maybe that's another reason why Rosalina did the spell on herself. Besides trying to take over the universe and take back her throne, to get another chance to make up for all the mistakes for all the mistakes she had done.

Bloom was the only one not entirely convinced with that motion. After that little encounter she and her friends had with the infamous dark angel, it was clear Rosalina (Libitina) was packed with insane powers and proven to be one hell of an actress. The fainted pain she felt in her left wrist, which was slowly on it's' way to full recovery, was a reminder how Bloom fallen for Libitina's Flora act and ended up with a twisted wrist. "I'm not entirely sure about that one, girls. Maybe it's not the best time to trust her. At least not yet… with…the timing you know."

_Not when my birthday's soon around the corner and the prophecy set to happen on the stroke of midnight, which was the time of when I was born_, Flora thought, knowing those were the words Bloom was close to saying but didn't for her sake. She was grateful for that. "Maybe…" she echoed, her voice trailing off as her mind was lost in thought.

Stella, being Miss Sunshine, sensed an awkward silence and decided to move things onto a lighter note. "Anyway, girls, don't forget. Tomorrow Sky and Brandon are getting a ship from Red Fountain, getting the rest of the boys, and meeting us at Magix. I told them to meet us there at the Rosebud Café. Let's met there for some breakfast at…ten-thirty."

_Ten-thirty! At the Rosebud Café for some breakfast!_

Remembering those words echoing inside her head, Flora awakened early the next morning, popping her eyes wide open when she recalled the day when she was going to met her friends and they were heading off to Sunnyvilla Paradise to celebrate the week of her birthday, which was on Sunday and Stella called birth-week, was today.

Flora wasn't sure whether or not it was early in the morning, but as she gazed out her bedroom window, she saw the sun was fully risen and shining brightly in the clear, blue sky. As her emerald eyes darted over to her alarm clock on her nightstand, she was suddenly glad packed everything she needed for the vacation getaway trip in two suitcases and a pink duffle bag last night.

It was already past 9:45, and it takes over an hour and thirty minutes to get from here to Magix using Magix transportation.

Flora scrambled onto her feet to get ready, zooming to the bathroom to take a quick shower and brush her teeth, and then quickly changing into the clothes she laid out to wear for today. With seven minutes to spare, she was able to make her bed-mess of hair look decent by brushing and combing it over a dozen times, and then styled it two loose pigtails.

After saying and hugging goodbye to her mom and Rose, Flora raced over to the train station and was able to get onto a fast train, getting her to Magix fifteen minutes after ten.

Flora was able to get to the café just in time and saw the rest of the Winx girls were there, already seated at their table with their suitcases piled up by the corner near the table, telling each other what's been going with them. She took her time to study her friends, smiling as she recalled how much she missed them all.

"Are you gonna stand there like a pretty wallflower or come over here and give your friends a hug?" Stella's voice broke through her thoughts, and Flora saw her friends were all there waiting for her with broad smiles spreading across her face.

Flora went over to the table, settled her suitcases with the others, and pulled her friends into one, big group hug. "I missed you guys."

"I can't believe it's been three days since we've seen each other, but I feel like I haven't seen you guys practically forever." Bloom said when the hug broke apart and they all took their seats.

"So, what have you all been up to?" Tecna said. Before anyone could give an answer, one of the employees called their waiting number and informed them their food was ready. She went to get the food and came back with a huge tray of breakfast food and drinks, setting the tray gently onto the table before the girls like starving wolves grabbed their food and started eating. She bit into her blueberry muffin, practically melting on the inside by the fresh deliciousness, and washed down the bite with a gulp of her strong coffee. Just plain black, no sugar or cream, which was just the way she loved her morning coffee to help wake her more up.

"Nice to see Tecna is still kicking on her coffee addition," Stella teased, innocently smiling when Tecna gave her a look. "You can at least add some cream and sugar to make it taste so better. Just plain black coffee is so blah."

"I prefer my coffee roasted and plain black, thank you very much," Tecna took another long gulp on her coffee. She was the only one of them who could really handle hot coffee, not even worrying if it would burn her tongue or not. "So, anyway, what did you girls do when you went back home?"

Stella was the first one to answer, saying while having another one of the chocolate-chip stones "I can't begin to tell you girls how wonderful it was to be back to Solaria."

"Because you got to go on over dozens of shopping marathons and run up your credit cards bills," Musa guessed. "And have your royal tailor make you new dresses."

"Yes, that's very much true." Stella admitted. "But besides shopping and having fabulous custom-made gowns made for me, I also attended fabulous parties and went to three balls in my cousin, Rita's, honor for her new engagement to Count Gabriel. Their parents arranged the marriage when they were, like, seven years old, and almost worried they weren't going to like each other but luckily they were wrong. The wedding's on June 14, a summer wedding, and I want all of you to come."

"What's this count like?" Flora asked.

"A bit stiff and a huge perfectionist," Stella answered. "But he's still really cute, he likes Rita and she likes him, and they do make a really cute couple. The royal court threw the balls, so both my parents had to come."

The girls noticed Stella's happy, smiling face fallen into hooded sadness. Stella's parents, the king and queen of Solaria, separated when Stella was still a kid, and over the years has been really tough on her to watch her parents break into huge fights whenever they met.

Bloom placed her hand on Stella's shoulder to give it a gentle squeeze. Stella smiled a bit in gratitude, but it wasn't enough to fully erase the sadness from her eyes. "It wasn't so bad this time," she said. "They knew how much this meant for Rita, and agreed to be on their best behavior and act civil toward each other. They had a few arguments, but compared to their other loud ones, this one seemed more…civil. At least for them."

It was clear by the awkward silence lingering in the air, someone needed to say something and change the subject fast. Tecna decided she would be the one to do just that, saying "Timmy came over a few times to visit me and we went on some dates. We were also able to create these."

Tecna reached into her bag and pulled out six, black digital palm-size cameras she passed five of them down to her friends. "We built these for you guys to take pictures of the vacation. Made from the latest technology. It's pretty much indestructible and water-proof, also has a built-in camcorder, and some fun features like color effect and crazy frames, zooming in and out features that can take a picture fifty feet away and make it into a clear, close-up."

"Sweet." Musa said, planning to take a lot of pictures and sent some to her dad.

"Nabu and I went back to Tides and hung out with our families. I, unfortunately, had princess stuff to attend to, like going to a benefit ball and acting prim and proper around my parents. When we all went out to bunch, our families were so happy how much we're fond of each other and our moms were wondering if they should plan our marriage again."

They all laughed at that, and Stella put in that Layla should sent them an invitation if they were going through with the marriage.

"Going back to the Harmonic Nebula was great!" Musa said. "It was awesome to see my dad again, and even more awesome he decided to get back into the music business. I helped him try out some new material, and he arranged for us to go on a summer tour with this really popular music act from my realm."

"That's awesome, Musa," Bloom commented. "Going back to Earth wasn't easy because I had to go through seven spell books to get the right transportation spell, but it was totally worth it. It was amazing to be back in Gardenia, saw some old friends, and helped my mom in her flower shop. The only unfortunate thing was Mitzi was there to make things as usual."

Each girl gave a shudder at that name, playfully saying "eww," while laughing. Mitzi was a girl from Bloom's hometown, Gardenia, and pretty much fitted the description of your typical mean, very pretty and rich, really snobby girl from down the street. She and Bloom have known each other practically all their lives, and while they were preschool, Mitzi decided she hated Bloom, even though Bloom wasn't sure what she did to make her so pissed-off, and make her life a living hell. The girls had the unfortunate honor of meeting her when they went back to Bloom's home and got invited to Mitzi's Halloween party. Turns out the reason why Mitzi invited them in the first place was to embarrass them in front of all her guests, but by the end of the night it was Mitzi who was made the fool while the girls were a big hit.

"She and her sidekicks came into the shop to loudly whisper, practically yelling, how tacky and nasty everything looked just to get on my bad side. Mitzi said right to my face it was no wonder why my parents aren't rich. It's because they spent all their savings on a crappy store that makes no money at all." Bloom said.

"I'm surprised you didn't hurl a fireball at her and blaze her hair. Or at least cast a spell to help make her smelly, fish perfume smell less reek." Stella said, her nose wrinkling a bit when she remembered the horrible odor hovering around the mean girl each time they crossed pass with her.

The girls knew Bloom well enough to know she wouldn't use her fire powers besides fighting evil and self-defense. A slight mischievous wickedness crept into her smile, letting them know some magic was used against the mean girl.

"You did something!" Tecna figured out. "Tell us now."

"I didn't use any of my dragon fire powers, but I was able to do something with the help of magic," Bloom said. "Mitzi did buy a bunch of daises for her mom, and I put a stank-bomb spell on them and they set off the moment they stepped outside."

"The same one from that article in Teen Fairy guaranteed to make your enemy smell so bad, they make the stank of a skunk smell like vanilla and fresh flowers." Stella said.

"That's sticks on them for about two months." Layla added.

"Two and a half months," Bloom clarified. "The look on their faces and Mitzi's scream was absolutely priceless."

Bloom laughed out loud as she remembered the looks on Mitzi's and her friends' faces when the spell went into affect and everyone nine blocks near the area were running away from the smell. The other girls burst into laughter when the image came into their minds. They were laughing so hard, tears were rolling down their cheeks and their bodies were shaking from the laughter, they were nearly falling from their seats.

Stella let out a breath when she willed herself to stop laughing and took a sip of her strawberry smoothie, reminding her repeatedly not to burst into another round of laughter unless she wanted smoothie sprouting from her nose. "Man, I would have loved to see that."

"If you had sent me a clip of the moment, I would have uploaded on the realm-wide web in less than five seconds." Tecna told Bloom, who still had some giggles left in her.

"And keep the future generation laughing for centuries." Musa added, which set off another round of laughter.

"So, Flora, what did you do for your short break? Anything fascinating happen in Linphea?" Layla asked.

_You could say something like that_, Flora thought as she recalled her mom telling her about what happened the day Alaric first met her as a four year old toddler and cursed her dad with a deadly illness that killed him later in the years. And the strange dream where she learned more about Rosalina's life, which in some ways were eerily similar to her, and Rosalina acted less like the cold-hearted Libitina and more like the former kind, sweet her.

Flora wanted to tell Musa about it and her friends about the news regarding Alaric and her dad, but now wasn't the right time yet. Especially since they got back reunited from a three-day separation and wanted to chill and relax. She just wanted to hang out with them and forget about her problems. "Same old, same old. Healed some plants that were close to dying, did all sorts of things with Rose, and basically just hung out."

Bloom checked her watch for the time and saw it was fifteen minutes after eleven. "I wonder where the guys are."

"Timmy sent me a text saying they'll be running a bit late since they have to reload the ship with gas fuel," Tecna answered. "Considering how big the ship is and how much fuel it's gonna take for them to load, I'd say we're going to be here for awhile."

"Just wait till the boys come and see us in these outfits. They are so gonna flip," Stella smiled. "And if I do say so myself, we all look pretty fabulous, dahlings."

The girls really did look amazing, if they so say so themselves. Dressed in comfortable yet fashionable summer attire perfect for the tropical, summer resort they were vacationing at.

Bloom was dressed in a super cute and flirty, spaghetti-strapped sea form-green ditsy tiered summer dress and brown espadrilles, and added for accessories matching brown bangles on both wrists.

Stella, the fashionista picture-perfect gal, looked radiant as a model in an ocean blue and violet purple oversize, ruffled cami top over white linen capris and matching blue lace-up wedge espadrilles. She completed the outfit with violet purple hoop earrings and a silk scarf tied around her head that matched her top.

Flora felt adorable in a red 1-strap midriff-bearing tank top embroidered with mini silver-blue fringes attached with matching beads on the neckline, matching red mini skirt with the same fringe detailing, and red lace-up espadrilles. She kept her golden hoops, and also had her pigtails to be kept in scrunches that was the same shade of her top.

Musa, who wasn't that much of a girly-girl, looked very, perfectly like a girly-girl in a bright pink key-hole, ¾ sleeved silkily cotton top detailed with a low neckline low enough to be flirty and teasing instead of going overboard and slutty and spilt, fluttering sleeves, light brown short shorts with a sparkly pink silk scarf-like belt tied around it, and matching pink strappy, lace-up espadrilles. She wasn't wearing any accessories, but she did style her hair. Once again, her long, straight midnight locks were pulled back and flowing down her back with her bangs swept to the left side, giving her a very promising and chic look.

Tecna kept her outfit choices simple enough to pass as decent but very chic to be known as cute with a white tank top, light brown cool-looking shorts, and light brown sling-back espadrilles. She added accessories to make her outfit more chic and complete with a spiral weave floppy hat with faux leopard scarf tied around it and light brown huge sunglasses masking her face.

Layla looked adorably, vacation-ready in a strapless light baby blue top with bright pink straps and lime green ruffle hem attached to the bottom, baby pink short shorts, and green wedge flip-flops for extra height. Like Musa, she wasn't wearing any accessories but did have her hair done and swept up in a high ponytail.

"We have to take a picture, girls," Flora said, adjusting the lens to her camera. "We'll call this one the girls' first day of vacation before they're sent off to paradise."

The girls decided the best background for the picture would be in front of the stage the café sets up for the open-mic night. Flora set her camera to set off in fifteen seconds and they used that time to make sure they looked ready to take a picture. Flora used magic to levitate the camera in front of them and she went over to her friends. They huddled close to each other and got themselves ready and all smiles the second the camera went off and the group shot was taken.

They took a few more pictures, some where they have broad smiles on their faces, making such goofy faces, and there was one were they made the most disgusting faces so ridiculous it was laughing out loud funny.

"Hey Musa," Flora said. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure." She answered.

While the other girls went back to the table with plans to eat whatever was left, Musa followed Flora into the ladies' room. Flora checked to see if anyone else in there and to her relief she saw they were alone and free to talk without worrying about unwanted eavesdroppers listening in.

She joined Musa, who was standing near the sinks and looking back at her reflection as she applied soft pink glossy lip-gloss on her lips with a scent of delicious raspberries coming from it. Flora looked at her with a half-questioning, half amused look in her eyes.

Musa stopped glossing her lips as she took one look at her friend's face, sighed while shaking her head, and returned to re-applying her lip-gloss. "What can I say? While I was spending time with my dad, I also got an unexpected visit from my cousin, Lola. She's like Stella, but with shorter, dark hair and still to this day sees me as her fashion doll. Against my will, I was forced to sit through hours reading fashion magazines and talking about makeover tips and fashion advice. I read and talked so much about it, I still carry some of those tips inside my head."

"Oh, the horror!" Flora gasped, placing her hands over her hand to be more dramatic, and then giggled.

"Ha, ha, ha. Very funny," Musa sarcastically replied. "FYI, it turns out one has to check on makeup and make sure lip-gloss is perfect every few minutes. According to makeover tip thirty-five, it's important to have make-up in check before your guy comes. Especially to use flavored lip-gloss so when he kisses you, he'll taste something sweet. Other than your lips, I mean."

"Oh my goody goodness, do you realize how much you sounded like Stella?"

Musa paused when she heard that, slowly re-capped her lip-gloss and put it inside her pocket, turned to Flora and gripped her by the shoulders, shaking her as she exclaimed in a dramatic, hysterical voice "Help me, woman! I'm having gone mad!"

Flora laughed again because Musa was really acting like Stella now. When she told her this, the musical fairy glared at her hard with narrowed eyes but the look looked less intimidating when her face broke into a huge smile.

"Tell anyone, especially Stella, I'll wipe this entire bathroom, including the nasty toilets with you," She warned, and the two shared a laugh.

When they had control over themselves and the laughing died down, Musa realized Flora wouldn't have called her into the bathroom for a chat unless there was something really important and asked the nature fairy what she wanted to talk about. Flora took in a deep breath and held nothing back as she repeated to Musa what her mom told her about their family picnic turning bad and what happened to her dad. There were times when Flora would pause for a moment to wipe the tears from her eyes or when she would choke up on a couple of words and took a few seconds to clear her throat.

Musa listened carefully as Flora talked, never interrupting and nodding her head occasionally from time to time with a sharp glare in her eyes. When Flora was finished, she looked shaken and was in a need for hug, so that's exactly what Musa gave her. She pulled her shaken friend into her arms held onto her tightly, feeling Flora returning the embrace with an equally fierce hug.

Flora buried her face in the nape of Musa's neck and breathed deep breathes. "Thanks for listening, Musa."

"No prob, Flo," Musa told her. "Believe me; I knew exactly how it feels to lose a parent." Tears started burning in her eyes as she thought about her dead mother, remembering how much she really missed her.

"It's kind of funny in a weird way how our parents almost died the same way. Except for the fact your mom died from a natural illness while my dad was cursed with one," Though she couldn't see it, she could feel Musa nodding her head and felt her friend's hand rubbing her back. "Musa, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, anything."

"What would you do if you found out someone spelled your mother to have that illness that killed her?"

There was a pause in her answer, but Musa spoke in a deadly and cold voice "I would think the person is a cruel, heartless being to be something so low like that. And when I came face-to-face with him or her…let's just say the asshole or bitch is going to regret the day they met me."

Flora nodded, feeling the exact same way about the issue. She took in another breath as she felt another set of tears watering in her eyes. "I just feel so stupid." She admitted.

"Why?" Musa asked.

"You guys and Nathalie were right about Alaric. I can't believe I was so stupid enough to believe there was an actual good side to him." Flora confessed.

"That's just in your nature, Flora," She told Musa gently. "You like being fair and knowing that even in a horrible person, some goodness is in them. But you have to understand there are some people who chose not to show and care about having a good side. Some people chose not to care about anything at all."

_Like Libitina._

Those words weren't said, but weighted heavily in the air.

"Musa?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"The next time we ever come face-to-face with Alaric and the witches…leave him to me. I'll not only destroy him, I'll make him rue the day he ever met Rosalina."

"I can already tell that will be one hell of a round everyone will surely remember for a _very_, very long time." Musa joked, which did the trick to make them both laugh, lightening the somber moment.

By the time they left the bathroom, they saw the manager of Rosebud, a chubby man with thinning hair, on stage and announcing the café was officially this hour to be performing hour, calling out to all musicians and singers and dancers to come out and show their talent.

"Musa!" Stella called out extra loud, pointing to her friend so everyone could see Musa was trying to slip away from view.

"Go on and saw them what you got!" Layla cried.

"Well, come on, Musa, and show us what you got." The manger said.

"MUSA! MUSA! MUSA!" The people chanted and beating their fists rhythmically on the tables, including her friends who were cheering the loudest. The other girls were beating their fists on the table while Flora was clapping in perfect rhythm.

"Go on, Musa." Flora encouraged, giving her friend a light shove toward the stage.

Musa wasn't really ready to do any singing today, but with the people chanting her name loudly being led by her friends and the manager setting up a small band for her, she was the show must go on. She finally gave in and walked over to the stage, accepting the microphone from the manger, who then walked off the stage and hearing the chants growing louder with loud applaud.

After instructing the band how the beat of the song should go, Musa turned back to see people were surrounding the stage and her friends were right in front of the crowd, grinning and cheering her on.

"Hey," she smiled. "How you all doing?"

The responses were energetic yells and another round of loud applause.

"I really wasn't expecting to do a song today, but thanks to a _certain_ someone," Musa glared at Stella, who gave her a look saying _you know you love me_ while waving at her and smiling innocently. "Looks like there's now a change of plans. I'm going to sing you guys a new song I wrote last night called _Round and Round_. Hope you like it."

_Round and round (x4)_

You see me standing there  
And act like you don't know me  
But last night you were calling me  
Saying you want me  
Oh why you always make me feel  
Like I'm the one that's crazy  
You got my heart racing  
My-my heart racing

Boy, I need you here with me  
We can't go on this way  
I'm falling hard for you  
All I can say

We're going round and round  
We're never gonna stop  
Going round and round  
We'll never get where  
We're going  
Round and round  
Well your gonna miss me  
Cause I'm getting dizzy  
Going round and round  
And round

The whole café filled with people were dancing along whether it was a customer or employee grooving along to the music, loving Musa's voice and loving the song. Tecna was even recording the whole performance on the camcorder while dancing.

_You tried to pull me close  
And whisper in my ear  
You always told me lies  
I've cried out all my tears  
I pushed my feelings to the side  
But then you bring them back  
B-bring them back  
Now you got me singing_

Boy, I need you here with me  
We can't go on this way  
I'm falling hard for you  
All I can say

We're going round and round  
We're never gonna stop  
Going round and round  
We'll never get where  
We're going  
Round and round

_Well your gonna miss me  
Cause I'm getting dizzy  
Going round and round  
And round _

Musa pulled her friends by hand one by one to join her onstage. There was more than enough room for them to dance, and Musa led them through a fantastic dance routine that went perfect with the song.

_Love me or Love me not  
I'm starring at the clock  
I take them flower petals off  
And then I watch them drop  
Love me or Love me not  
I'm starring at the clock  
I take them flower petals off  
And then I watch them drop _

They were all dancing so well, including Tecna, who was astonished herself how her feet were moving perfectly to the music and her hips shaking rhythmically. Though that may have been due to the dancing spell both Musa and Layla cast on her, so she wouldn't trip.

And not only were the girls dancing with the people cheering them all, the girls also led their voices to sing along with Musa on the chorus.

_Boy, I need you here with me  
I can't go on this way  
I'm falling hard for you  
All I can say_

_Round and round  
We're never gonna stop  
Going round and round  
We'll never get where  
We're going  
Round and round  
Well your gonna miss me  
Cause I'm getting dizzy  
Going round and round  
And round and round_

We're never gonna stop  
Going round and round  
We'll never get where  
We're going  
Round and round  
Well your gonna miss me  
Cause I'm getting dizzy  
Going round and round  
And round

_Whoa-oh whoa-oh whoa-oh (x3)_

The girls posed hard, only to be welcomed with a deafening applause and cheering so hard they were surprised the glasses weren't breaking. They grinned as they shared a group high-fived, held onto one another's hand and took a bow, smiling as they heard the applause going louder and louder. As the girls left the stage, Stella stayed behind to take a few more bows and blew some kisses, till Bloom and Tecna came back to drag her off the stage.

"Man that was so fun." Bloom said.

"For sure." Flora agreed.

"I wonder where the boys are. It's almost twelve and there's no telling if there's going to be huge traffic. Brandon knows more than anything how much I loathe tardiness." Stella complained.

"Aren't you the one, Stella, who said it's perfectly fine for someone to be late?" Tecna reminded.

"I meant for a girl who wants to look perfect when her guy comes to get her or for a social engagement like balls, parties, and all that," Stella stated. "Not for this."

Musa rolled her eyes and told Stella "Chillax, Stel. I'm sure they'll be here soon."

"Oh, I know they better be," Stella scoffed. "Otherwise the second I see Brandon, he's going to get an ear full."

"Excuse me, beautiful lady," someone asked in a phony, foreign accent, but was a voice the girls recognized nevertheless. The girls turned to the direction where the voice was coming from. They smiled as they saw six familiar faces smiling back at them.

"You know we were looking for our girlfriends, but we couldn't help but notice how stunning all you pretty ladies look. So stunning, you could be models," Brandon said, still speaking in a phony fake accent and knowing how ridiculous he sounded. "Tell me, do you have boyfriends?"

"You can cut the cheesy lines, honey-bear. Though they are sweet, if you think coming here late and saying a few pick-up lines will save you from getting an ear full from me, then you got a another thing coming, buster." Stella demanded, which made them all laugh except a frowning Stella glaring hard at Brandon smiling sheepishly and rubbing the back of his head.

The boys were late, which the girls weren't too happy about since they're normally the ones who get extremely pissed-off and complain about them being late, but unlike Stella, the rest of the Winx girls weren't gonna hold it against it this time.

Particularly since they couldn't help but notice how good the boys looked like the guys were checking out their girls with lustful eyes.

Like the girls, the boys were perfectly dressed for sunny, vacation fun and looked adorable in their sleeveless shirts and t-shirts, baggy shorts and capris, and sneakers and sandals and flip-flops. Riven, Sky, and Timmy were the only ones out of the group wearing men accessories. Riven with a navy-blue bandana tied around his magenta hair, which matched the seal blue t-shirt and shorts one-piece he was wearing; Sky also sported a bandana in a lighter blue shade that went with his matching blue sleeves shirt and bleached denim shorts; and Timmy keep it very boy-style with a orangish-red and white baseball he wore with his yellow hoodie t-shirts and white cargo shorts.

While Brandon was trying to win back, the rest of the boys embraced their girls, holding them really tight and close to them since they remembered how much they missed them, and the girls rewarded them with soft kisses and then talked about they did while they were on break.

"Stel, look," Brandon pleaded to his girlfriend who turned her back to him and tried placing his hand on her shoulder, only to have be shrugged off. "I know I should have called to let you girls know we were coming late, and also return your calls and messages-"

"You got that right, pal!" Stella cut in, her back still turned to him and her arms folded against her chest.

"But you already know how strict Sky's parents are and as a squire, it's my duty to watch over the prince and be on high alert," Brandon said, snuggling up close to her and feeling her slowly relax into his touch as he nuzzled into her neck, placing a few pecks here and there, and wrapped his arms around her, gently rocking her. "If it helps, I missed you and you were the only thing I could think about nonstop. Ask Sky. He'll be the first one to confirm it."

"Oh really?" She didn't turned back to look at him, but Brandon could hear the bitterness she spoke with before melted away into flirtatious curiosity, which was the perfect tone for his perfect Stella. His lips were slowly lifting into a smile.

"Really." He confirmed.

The small, timid smile on her face widened into a full, radiant grin. Stella turned back to him with that bright smile and was returned with a bright smile from her snookums, placed both hands on either side of his face, and pulled him into a soft, lingering kiss that was a cross between a good morning kiss and one letting him know exactly how much she missed him.

"Timmy, do you really think I look decent?" Tecna asked shyly. She wasn't usually so caring about other people's opinions, but it was different when it came to Timmy's, whose opinion meant a lot to her.

Timmy took one look at her with a very solemn expression on his face, and slowly smiled spread. "Just decent alone is an unreasonable way to describe how you look. You look really amazing, Tecna. In fact, you look picture-perfect amazing," He answered, taking out his camera and snapping a picture of her before she could even be ready.

"I cannot wait till we hit the beach," Nabu told Layla excitedly. Rosebud café employees were walking around the crowd dancing to whatever music the next performer or band was playing and carrying trays of the newest creations the café was promoting and giving out free samples. Nabu and Layla stopped their conversation for a second to accept two drinks called Tropical Caribbe- a tangy mixture of pineapple, coconut, mango, with some avocado paste for that unusual kick. "Being back in Tides made me remember how much I missed being in the water."

Layla smiled at him as she took a sip of the unusual-tasting yet very delicious smoothie she thought tasted both odd and good at the same time. "I feel the same way, Nabu. I can't wait till you guys see the Sunnyvilla Paradise. The hotel has over a dozen pools including this insane one with a cool waterslide, and so many amazing beaches. All I plan do to this vacation week is swim, surf, dance at some clubs with Musa, and help celebrate Flora's birthday."

"And I'm with you every step of the way." Nabu wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her into him and pecking her forehead.

Bloom and Sky were dancing along to the energetic sound the new band was playing, which was amazing and made everyone feel so alive and fresh. Bloom loved her hair flying wildly as she shook her head and shook her hips along to the music, loved having her body pressed against Sky's and him dancing with her, loved the fact all her friends were here and she was here with the guy she loves, and loved the fact they were all going on vacation.

Bloom laughed as Sky twirled her around and went closer to him, pressing her hands against his chest and smiling up at his grinning face looking down at her. "I can't wait till we head to Sunnyvilla Paradise, Sky. I bet it's going to be so much fun."

"I can already tell it's going to be awesome." Sky said.

"And why is that?"

"Because I get to spend time with my favorite girl."

Musa and Riven were talking about what they planned to do while they're vacationing for the week, Musa hitting the clubs and heading to every beach the place has and Riven planning to do some major surfing and (quietly saying under his breath) he especially planned to spend some time with her, which made her smile. He also told her he and guys arrived here just in time to get a full preview of the performance she gave, paying her with compliments like how he thought she was a really good singer and the song sounded awesome with a genuine smile on his face.

The chat got interrupted when a cute, dark-haired guy employee with the name Sam stamped on his nametag came to offer them two peppermint milkshakes toppled with whipped cream, and to Riven's displeasure, the dude showed _a lot_ of interest in Musa.

Ignoring Riven the whole time and his deadly gaze shooting bullets at him, Sam got in front of Musa and told her he thought she was an amazing singer with a great voice and great looks to go with it, saying she was the hottest singer to perform here by far and writing his number on her open palm, taking all the time in the world looking at her curvy, slender body with hungry, predacious lust eyes.

"You know, you and me should go out sometime." He told her, trying to win her over with his charm.

"That's so sweet, but I already got a guy of mine own." Musa smiled at her as she nodded to Riven, who smiled a bit quickly at her while giving Sam a look do deadly, it was only a miracle the dude was still un-harm.

Before Sam was finally gone, he turned back to Musa, winked which made her smile while Riven scowled at the both of them, and a call-me sign that really made her laugh while Riven was close to punching his insides out before finally taking a hike.

"What the hell was that?" Riven demanded.

Taking one look at his face and knowing jealousy was spinning madly inside, Musa sighed and didn't even bother to answer the question. She loves Riven and that love helps her through the many times when he's not exactly smooth prince charming. But if there's one thing about Riven that really pushes her beside his sexist side, it was his crazy jealously. Whenever guys as so much as looks at her, the man is already to put the guy to his grave.

"He was only giving us milkshakes and telling me I have a very good voice, Riven." Musa took a sip of the drink and toyed around with her straw.

"You called that talking!" He replied. "It looked more like flirting. For god's sake, he wrote his number on your hand and you didn't even stop him."

"And for god's sake, I told him I have a boyfriend. Thank you so much for trusting me." She said.

"I _do_ trust you, I don't just trust any other guys except my friends-_sometimes_. Bottom line is you're _my_ girl and I don't wait you talking to other guys."

"Ugh!" Musa thrust her milkshake into his hands, catching him off guard and spilling some onto his shirt. She turned her heel on him and walked away in frustration, unable to believe Riven was acting like such a jealous idiot, till she felt a hand grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her back in.

The person spun her back to him and dipped her low, kissing her deeply yet softly on the lips with hunger and passion. It was a kiss she hadn't expected, but responded to nevertheless. She finally pulled away from the kiss to see Riven smiling down at her, keeping his grip firm and tight on her.

"Forgive a jealous idiot?" Riven smiled a bit sheepishly.

"Don't I always." It wasn't even a question in the first place, and it had them both laughing, the whole Sam issue forgotten, before Musa pulled Riven back for another kiss.

Helia and Flora were dancing with Timmy and Tecna and Sky and Bloom, grooving along to the musical beats and sometimes even being creative as they switched dance partners from time to time but mostly stayed with their original partners.

"So, birthday girl, excited about your birthday?" Helia smiled.

"Something like that," Flora answered half-truthfully. "And that's almost birthday girl to you mister."

Helia laughed, but carried her in his arms and spun around as fast as he could for as long as he could, having Flora laughing each time he spun. When he finally and gracefully landed her back on her top, Flora fell headfirst into his chest, the two of them laughing as he wrapped his arms around her and they danced again.

Flora looked into Helia's alluring blue eyes, first feeling like she was melting away like chocolate but pushed pass her melting feeling to really look hard into them. She saw happiness, love, and passion as he looked at her, but Flora tried to find something-anything that would help her possibly find an answer.

_Are you really Julio, Helia?_ Flora thought.

After the guys had eaten breakfast, a very large breakfast that was more like a buffet, and getting some food for the whole trip ride, they acted like gentlemen as they piled the girls' suitcases onto the ship. Well most of them anyway. Like Flora, the girls decided to travel light with one or two suitcases and a duffle bag. But Stella was the only one of them didn't know the terms traveling light, taking it to a very high when she bought not ten, not twelve, but _thirty-one_ suitcases with her, each heavy-loaded and weighing over a hundred pounds. The girls lend the boys a hand as they handled Stella's luggage, their knees buckling as they struggled to keep their hold.

"Stella, what the heck did you pack in here?" Brandon asked. "Rocks?"

"More like heavy boulders." Riven commented.

"Seriously, Stel, what's in here?" Bloom said. "Because nobody brings this many suitcases on a week vacation."

"Only a few of my absolutes can't live without." She answered.

"A few?" They said in unison, staring at her in disbelief.

Once they finally got all of Stella's stuff inside the pain a very pain-filled, back-aching, few minutes later, the boys were taking over the controls and the girls were seated, and they headed off in light speed. They talked, ate some of the food they brought along with them, and told one another how they couldn't wait till they get to the resort vacation.

Flora laughed at some jokes that were funny and weren't that entirely but still did it out of kindness, and got into conversations, but she mostly stayed quiet as she stared at friends. Really looked at them.

Nobel and bright leader Bloom; cheery and girly, It-girl status Stella; strong-willed, talented Musa; solemn-eyed, book-smart Tecna; and tomboy, adventurous Layla.

Her best friends in the whole wide world whom she loved and cared for like sisters, whom she shared many adventures with along with good times and not-so good times.

Without them, Flora wasn't really sure what she would do.

Everything around her was starting to get tipsy and make her dizzy; her eyes were starting to feel heavier and heavier with her vision slowly going to black. It wasn't long before she was out of reality, slipping into unconsciousness.

_Should she knock on the door and wait for someone to open it or just go in and say hi if she sees someone?_

_Rosalina realized how foolish she was being, standing outside the door of the room where she was going to be living at with five other girls for the rest of the year when she should really be inside her new room, unpacking her things and getting settled in. Then again, she recalled she had every right to be feeling and acting foolish. _

_Today was the beginning to start her magical training and career, starting the four years of which people call either the best or worse time of their lives, her first day as a freshmen at Alfea, a marvelous high school where fairies from all over the realms come and learn to master their powers, becoming full fledge fairies. _

_She was beyond the term being only a little nervous. She felt nerve-wrecking, so queasy to her stomach it was only a miracle she haven't hurled yet. But she should be grateful she wasn't one of those girls who sweat like crazy whenever they get nervous, otherwise she would be in really big trouble. _

_The first part of the orientation had gone okay where the headmistress, Miss Swan, and head of disciple actions, Miss Grilse, took the newcomers on a tour around campus, having a meeting with Miss Grilse who explained to all of them what would be expected of them and the rules they must follow, making it as clear as crystal there would be very serve consequences if the rules are broken, and letting the group go free to check into their dorm and meet their new roommates. _

_Rosalina thought about the five girls she bumped into and got friendly with. She had forgotten to introduce herself and take their names, but they were so far the nicest girls she had met. After they bumped into each other and gathered their things that spilled from their bags, they chatted for a few minutes which felt more like fast hours, rejoining the group and sticking together till it was time to departure. She wondered if by a miracle of a chance they could be her new roommates. She wasn't the most outgoing person you'd ever meet, who was more timid and soft-spoken, tending to spend most of her time alone with her plants. But being with those girls, it was like her shyness instantly melted away as they walked away together like they were already a group, talking about practically everything. She really hoped she would see them again. _

_She shook her head to clear her thoughts, and finally got inside her room. The living room was very bright and inviting with lavender walls, plants already watered and nurtured near the open windows, allowing cool breeze and sunshine in, or by the walls, a full and complete furniture set looking so cozy and comfy with a lavender coffee table, an average size bathroom she could already tell was going to be a struggle with six girls living here, and three doors leading to three bedrooms. _

_The first one was a precious, amazingly beautiful bedroom single suite, which was the biggest bedroom in the whole room, had more than enough closet space to fit an actual store and a small boutique, walls painted various golden orange shades, a beautiful and huge canopy bed with silken drapes in a stunning lavender color fit for a queen, and a huge vanity desk with every make-up cosmetic imaginable in every color imaginable. Over sixty-two boxes and luggage both big and small were piled around the bed, which were much more stuff than Rosalina thought to even consider packing._

_This room belonged, according to the sign posted next to the wall near the bedroom door, to Chelsea of Solaria. She was a blonde who was one of the girls she had bumped into. She remembered Ms. Gisela used her as an example as consequences when you broke the rules, explaining to the freshmen the princess gotten held back for blowing up the potion lad the previous year. _

_The next room was a smaller room compared to Chelsea's room made to bunk three girls with three twin-size beds, three closets and dressers, and two desks. But it was still adorable with breathtaking shades of various light green and greenish-blue splashed on the walls, posters of famous singers posted on the wall, one of the desks covered with a expensive-looking computer and other technology gadgets, sets of instruments set on the bed near the left side, and pictures pasted on the wall near the bed by the corner that had sport gear on it. They were dozens of suitcases piled on or near the beds. _

_This room belonged to Lauren of Tides, Melody of the Harmonic Nebula, and Titania._

_The final room was one Rosalina would be bunking with Princess Luna of Sparks that was the same size as the previous room, but everything was made for two. Two twin-size beds, two closets, two desks and a huge dresser big enough to fix clothing for two people. The room was very pretty, painted in a light lavender shade and a soft carpet underneath her feet, and she saw the rest of her and Luna's suitcases came in. _

_Her luggages were stacked on her bag on her bed that was next to the window featuring a beautiful view of the campus. Rosalina unpacked, using magic to have her clothes hang themselves on the hanger racks in the closet and neatly tucked inside the drawers of the dresser, and brought out her plants she keep safe from damage and harm with a plant-safe spell and nurtured with a planting spell so they wouldn't die in her suitcases. She brought a lot of plants with her along with clothes and she was going to need, since they would help her get over her homesickness. She placed the daisies, lilies, and white peonies near the windows she opened wide to let some air in, placed other flowers and plants around her area of the room, making it look more like a green-house garden, and her latest creation that she brought to life with her powers, giving it the ability to speak, on a small high table. _

_The plant watched Rosalina silently as she watered each of her plants the right amount of refreshing water and fed them nutrients that would help them grow faster and beautifully with a hooded expression on her face showing some sadness in it. "What's with the long face, kiddo?" the plant asked. _

_Rosalina created the plant less than two weeks, but wasn't able to find the right name to fit its' hard to describe personality. She sighed as she put away her water can and played with the plant's stems. "I just have a lot on my mind, that's all." She answered. _

"_Let it all out, kid. You call tell your old friend…me what's on your mind."_

_Rosalina held back a smile and some laughter, then shook her head as she sat on her bed, which felt so soft and cozy. "I'm just thinking about Haley. I dropped her off at the hospital before I came here, and it was so hard for both of us to say goodbye. I wonder if I did the right thing."_

"_You did the best you could to take care of her. Look at you, Rosalina. You're a fourteen year old girl who has a lot on your plate. You took care of both your ill mother and baby sister while you were a kid, took full care of your sister and became her guardian after your mom died. You did so much for other people; it's time to take care of yourself."_

_Rosalina smiled at her plant, starting to feel a whole lot better. She still wanted to know if her sister was really okay and didn't think there would be any harm if she called to check up on her. She tried to remember if and where she packed her phone, but her thoughts got interrupted when she heard her plant yelping in pain. _

_Her plant was holding onto the vines one of two girls entering her room must have accidentally stepped on. The girl close to him had her hand covered over her mouth in embarrassment and slight confusion. The girl went over to the room, leaning her back against it and softly chuckling at the scene. _

"_Oops, I'm sorry." She apologized sincerely. Rosalina recognized her as the red-head who was one of girls she bumped into. She was very pretty with her fiery orange-red, long hair, which contrasted with her pale complexion, the brightest cyan eyes, and wore a light blue tank top dress with yellow detailing and strappy wedge sandals. _

"_He's my latest creation." Rosalina explained, smiling warmly at them and coming forward to introduce herself. _

"_He talks?" the red-head asked. _

"_He's cute, isn't he?" Rosalina said. "My theory is if more trees could talk, then deforestation would be massively reduced. It's worth trying even if it saves one tree. Hi, I'm Rosalina."_

_She accidentally bumped her hip against the high table where her plant was resting at, knocking it backwards and sending it crashing toward the floor. "Oopies."_

_Her poor plant looked either in a lot of pain or was really exhausted, maybe even both. "Can't a plant get a break around here?"_

"_Sorry honey."_

_The blonde tried to stifle her laughter, but a few chuckles were being heard from her. The red-headed girl looked down at the poor plant and shot it a sympathetic look, then looked up at Rosalina to give her a smile. "I'm Luna."_

"_And I'm Chelsea." The blonde stepped forward to shake her hand, and they both curtseyed to each other. She had a faint Southern accent, which seemed to go perfectly with her bright smile and gorgeous looks. She was a real knock-out beauty with long, pale blond hair tied in a loose ponytail resting on her left shoulder, fair skin with a slender figure, and eyes that reminded Rosalina of the moon with its' brilliant pale bluish-silver shade. She was dressed to impress in a white, ruffle-front, knee-length strapless dress with wide skirts and black flirty lace detail, white chic floppy hat with black lace adornment, black shiny black high-heeled pumps, and was even carrying an umbrella that matched her dress wonderfully. _

"_I love your dress." Rosalina told her. _

"_Thank you kindly, doll. I do love to dress to impress," Chelsea did a twirl, the skirt of her dress fluttering, flashing another smile at Rosalina and Luna. "And I love your dress. It's so cute." _

_Before she came to Magix, Rosalina had spent hours in her closet and trying to find the right thing to wear. More than half the clothes she own were hand-made and hand-stitch, thanks to the sewing talents she inherited from her late grandmother and mother, who were former seamstress and lessons she had gotten from the both of them. The dress she was wearing right now was of her own creation she thought was perfect to wear since it wasn't too flashy and dressy but also wasn't too boring. It was a bright yellow short dress with chocolate brown thick straps, a chocolate brown thick stripe running across her chest with a sunflower pin attached to it, and mini, beaded sunflowers adorned near the hem, and she paired the ensemble with a simple pair of matching brown ballet flats. _

"_I'm really glad you liked it," Rosalina smiled, fluttered by the compliment. "I made it myself."_

"_You serious?" Rosalina nodded, and Luna and Chelsea exchanged a look with each other with a smile on their faces. Chelsea played with the hem of the dress, admiring the fabric and detail, thinking it was all too adorable. "I must say, your sewing is exclusively couture."_

"_Thank you," she said. "So, you two are really princesses?"_

"_That's right," Luna answered while Chelsea nodded. "I'm the princess of Sparks."_

"_And I'm the one of the princesses of Solaria, next on to be in line for the throne." Chelsea said. _

"_Solaria ruled by the sun king and moon queen, where perfectly sunny weather is nearly all year round, except with the occasional snowstorm, hasn't rained there in centuries. It's one of the most perfect places to go to for the summer for practically nonstop sunshine."_

"_That's right," Chelsea, Luna, and Rosalina came out from the bedroom to see another new girl entering the dorm, who also summarized information of Chelsea's home and was another girl they met earlier from this morning._

"_Cool. My name is Titania." Like Chelsea and Luna, she was certainly a looker with a slim figure, short hair in a shade that was a cross between purple and hot pink hair, and teal eyes playful with amusement and bright with intelligence. She was dressed in a long-sleeved silk lavender purple blouse over a darker purple pair of trousers, and purple flats. _

"_Nice to meet you, Titania. I'm Chelsea, this is Luna and Rosalina." Chelsea introduced, gesturing her hand toward the two other girls. _

_Titania smiled, remembering them as the girls she bumped into earlier and made quick friends with. Turning to Chelsea, she said "You are quite infamous."_

"_That's the gossip going around the school." Said another girl Rosalina recognized as the other girl from earlier. A gorgeous Asian-looking girl with shoulder-length midnight blue, glossy hair let down with her bangs sweeping the right side, eyes the exact midnight color as her hair, the body of a ballerina dancer Rosalina could already tell was graceful, and flawless porcelain skin looking so creamy and smooth. She was dressed in a beautifully-made, crimson red, square-neck dress with burgundy red lace detailing and fluttering sleeves, and a simple pair of black ballerina flats with the shoe satin ribbons tied up all the way to her knees. _

"_Listen if you plan to blow up anymore stuff, let us know ahead so we can run." She joked, making the girls laugh, including Chelsea who was chuckling a bit. "I'm Melody, by the way."_

"_Princess from the Harmonic Nebula and apparently my new roommate. Nice to meet you," Titania said, shaking hands with her, and introducing her to the other girls. _

_Chelsea explained the reason for the potion mishap was because she was trying to blend pastel and bright colors together to create a new shade of pink. It was in the name of fashion and she didn't regret it. _

"_I'm curious. Were you able to create this new shade of pink?" Titania asked. _

"_No, but when I do, it will become the official color of Solaria." Chelsea grinned big at the thought. _

"_Hopefully you're not going to blow up the entire school if you plan to achieve such a goal."_

_The girl who said that comment wasn't their last roommate. Instead was a girl who was a younger, smaller version of Chelsea, who looked no older or younger than seven, except for her eyes which was a golden hazel and her blond hair two shades darker than Chelsea's and a golden honey shade. She was dressed in almost the exact same way as Chelsea, but her dress was pink and white. _

_Chelsea walked over to the younger girl to embrace her in her arms, petting her hat-covered head with sisterly affection. Turning to the girls, she said "Girls, I'd like to meet, my little brat of a sister, Nathalie. Nathalie, these are my new roommates and new friends, Luna, Rosalina, Titania, and Melody."_

"_Nice to meet all of you," Nathalie did a small curtsey to them, and the girls found themselves doing the same to her. "I came with Chelsea because mother wanted to make sure she's on her best behavior, but unfortunately I have to go soon."_

"_You call it unfortunate; I call it a blessing from above." Chelsea teased, choosing to ignore her sister sticking her tongue out at her. _

"_Easy for you to say. You get to stay in Magix with your new friends while I'm forced to return back home where mother will be awaiting me with princess training." _

"_If I had to go through that torment, then so do you. You know as well as I do it's because mother wants to make sure we are proper ladies and princesses, so we may be married before we turn eighteen. If there's one thing that raises a woman's status in social society, its marriage to a man who's on the top of the social ladder."_

"_So, what do you girls want to do?" Titania asked. _

"_I have a brilliant idea. Let's get out here and go to Magix." Chelsea suggested. _

"_Great idea. Downtown Magix is so much fun." Rosalina said. _

"_Shouldn't we wait for our last roommate, Princess Lauren?" Luna asked. _

"_It would be rather rude to leave without meeting her first." Titania added. _

"_And wouldn't be the oddest coincidence she was the dark-skinned, dark-haired girl we bumped into earlier." Melody said._

_While the girls were debating over the issue, Rosalina heard a voice calling her by the breeze the wind was blowing into their room. The grandmotherly, gentle voice of nature warning her of a disturbance in the east woods, warning of a young woman was being attacked there. _

_A hand clamped her shoulder, breaking Rosalina free from her trance and her thoughts. She looked into the concern aqua eyes of Luna, and saw the others were looking at her concernedly. _

"_Everything all right?" Luna asked._

"_No," Rosalina explained to them what nature told her, repeating a girl was being attacked. _

"_Sounds like we better get over there and check it out." Luna said. _

"_And fast." Melody added. _

_Chelsea told her little sister it was dangerous for her to come and warned her to stay here, ignoring Nathalie as she complained, and quickly following the other girls as they ran out the rooms, ran through the hallways and down the staircase, racing out of campus and into the eastern forest. _

_Where energy shots were being fired, spells being cast, and tiny monsters were attacking and a young fairy was fighting them out, dressed in a green Winx attire, but was easily tired out. _

_Seeing the girl's dark chocolate wavy hair, the dark yet light blue eyes, Rosalina immediately recognized her from earlier. She had no doubt she was Princess Lauren._

_With a cry echoing from her and her hands raised over her head, the green-clad fairy spun around so fast like lightening, and water began to form around her like a second skin. The more she spun, the more water would gather in, and as she outstretched her arms, the water began a whirl-wind tornado knocking every monster down and washing him away. _

_One of the monsters was hurling toward a figure creeping in the shadows. The figure caught it in their hands and easily crushed it to bits, ignoring its' cries, then stepped out from the shadows, revealing his identity. _

_The girls saw it was not there was not only one creepy monster, but two. First one was a nasty-looking, disgusting huge, yellow-skinned ogre dressed in brown, cheap overalls and beside him was even more disgusting blue hunting troll with long dark hair that looked like it hasn't been washed for weeks. _

"_I don't know what you boys heard, but then again, I really don't care," she told them with such confidence Rosalina couldn't even muster in all her life. "In case you didn't figure it out, it's gonna take a lot more than a few ghouls to take down a fairy."_

"_We'll see about that, pipe-squeak." The ogre snapped his fingers, and out of nowhere, over three dozens of those nasty things surrounded her. Princess Lauren was too busy looking around her, with those ghouls scowling back at her, she didn't see it coming when the ogre charged forward to her and sent her hurling against a tree. _

"_Oh no." Rosalina whispered while the rest of the girls were too horrified to say anything._

_Princess Lauren was trying to get back hard, but she was feeling way too much pain to even move without wincing. She lay sprawled on the ground, powering down to regular form and getting her very dressy white gown dirty. _

_The ogre and troll were laughing at her pain, enjoying hearing her winces and seeing her struggle. "That will teach you to put your money where your mouth is. Now ghouls finish her off."_

_They smiled sickening, dark smiles as they began to inch closer toward them. The ogre was too busy watching them, he barely notice a fireball hurling toward the two of them, which knocked them backwards onto the ground. _

_Rosalina and Melody went to go help the girl, Chelsea and Titania handled taking care of the disgusting creatures with Chelsea using her umbrella to smack them around and blasting them while Titania zapped them, and Luna stood in front of two overgrown bullies who were growling at her. _

"_Why don't you two pick on someone your own size?" Luna said, hands on hips and her face fixed into a dark frown. _

"_You mean like you?" the ogre snarled while the troll grabbed her by her wrists, hanging her high and suspending from the ground, laughing as she was struggling to break free. _

"_LUNA!" The girls exclaimed. _

"_You girls should learn to mind your own business. Maybe smashing your friend to fairy dust will help you learn." _

"Let go!_" As Luna screamed, her body began to glow a bright orangish-red, as if flames were roaring alive inside her. The troll's grip immediately loosened and she was free after the troll felt an incredibly, painful burning sensation in his hands. Three ghouls charged toward her, and Luna stretched out her hand, creating a fire barrier that not only prevented them from attacking her, but also burnt them into crisps. _

_She quickly ran over to her friends and they were all standing tall and proud, not showing an ounce of fear as the nasty ogre and his buddy and their monsters inched closer to them, snarling at them. _

"_I say it's Winx time, girls." Luna said. _

"_Let's do it!" They all exclaimed, pumping them fists into the air. There were bright colors dancing around their bodies as they transformed, so blinding and bright, eyes needed to be shielded from view. _

_Luna's Winx outfit was a sparkly blue top decorated with a gold jewel at her chest, a matching miniskirt and blue ankle boots. She also wears blue gloves around her arms from elbow to wrist and wears a small golden tiara with rounded points at the top of her head. Her wings are cyan with teal tips._

_Chelsea's consists of a sparkling bluish-silver moon one-shoulder top and mini-shorts, with knee-high boots of the same color. She wears her hair in two pigtails with light blue tube ties. She also wears light blue cuff wrist bands and a headband of the same color. Her wings are three leaflets with the color of powder blue with teal tips._

_Rosalina's primarily fuchsia and orchid in color, and consists of a sparkling one piece, bare shouldered top that conceals a pair of mini shorts of the same color, and ankle-high boots also the same color. A small orchid colored and shaped choker adorns her neck, while detached sleeves of the same color compliment her arms. Her wings are lime green._

_Melody's a sparkling red top with translucent pink fabric at the middle, a red mini skirt, and knee-high wedge red boots. Her shoulder-length, midnight hair was in two ponytails with red hair bands. She also wears purple headphones atop her head and purple ribbons around her fore-arms (the one on her left arm has loose ends hanging from it). Her wings are translucent bright blue with purple bands in the middle._

_Titania's mainly a full body suit of a sparkling lavender color covering the torso and legs. She has powder blue sleeves which cover her hands and blue knee-high boots. She wears a lavender helmet which has a lime green tear-shaped brooch on it, similar to the one on her chest. Her wings are green bars which can form small squares on her back, in the shape of a glider._

_Lauren's sparkly green shoulder top, a sparkly green mini skirt atop green mini shorts, and green boots. She also wears a green sash connecting her top and skirt, and several silver rings around her outfit and on her arms. Lauren's wings are sky blue with mauve tips._

"_Moon power!" Chelsea slowly peeled off her Solaria ring and tossed it high in the air, watching it as it instantly changed into a beautiful scepter landing in her hands, she twirled around with. "How about I give you boys a little tasting of the power of Solaria? Star explosion." _

_Twirling around gracefully like a ballerina, Chelsea swung her weapon hard toward them and released a powerful orb of glittery stars that exploded as it made contact with the ghouls, destroying half of two dozen right on the spot. _

"_Sonic shriek!" Melody sucked in her breath and let out an ear-scattering, earth-shaking, intense painful sound that was too much for the ghouls to handle on their own, so they all quickly exploded one by one. _

_With the ghouls being taken care of and the ogre and troll looking like they knew their chance against six fairies was way off, the girls joined hands while they closed their eyes and focused all their energies into one big attack, releasing such a huge and powerful mass of combined, convergence energy that it zoomed as fast as lightening and struck the monsters hard enough to send them flying all the way across the other side of the woods._

"_Thank you girls for helping me back there." Lauren smiled at them all. "If it wasn't for you, I probably would be fairy dust right now."_

_After the girls high-fived and shared a group, relishing their victory, introductions was made, and just like Rosalina thought, the new fairy was Princess Lauren of Tides, their last roommate and new friend. Chelsea had spotted her little sister finding in the forest and watching them fight, deliberately disobeying her sister's orders when she was told to stay in their room. Only Chelsea was too happy over their victory, she decided to let her sister off the hook. _

_This time at least. _

_She did, however, escorted her sister to the Magix station and waved to her goodbye as her ride rode off. She returned back, and she and the girls helped Lauren make her way back to the campus, to their dorm and showed her the room she would be bunking with Melody and Titania. She was a pretty princess with coca, smooth dark skin, a slim and athletic figure she said she gotten from all the sports she played and dances she had done, her bright yet dark blue eyes, and wavy, chocolate brown hair flowing down her waist and was pulled by clips. For her first day of high school, she was certainly over-dressed in a super-wide skirted, frilly and lacy details and trims, long-sleeved dress in various white shades. It was a lovely dress, no doubt, but in the girls' options, it looked like something you would wear for a huge ball. _

"_Too much?" Lauren teased when she saw them staring at her. _

_The girls sheepishly nodded, and Chelsea said "Don't get us wrong, doll. It's a very lovely dress. But it looks more like a ball-gown dress than something you would wear for school."_

"_I know." She said with an exhausted sigh. "My parents are extremely strict about me looking like a perfect, prim and proper princess all the time, which is more than enough to drive me crazy. I only dressed like this, because I wasn't in the mood for their complaining, but I'm actually wearing another set clothes I planned to wear instead once I arrived here and got rid of this."_

"_What exactly are you wearing?" Luna asked, curious. _

_Lauren gave her a mischievous look and a smile to got with it as she unzipped the dress and tossed the garment carelessly away, revealing a shoulder-off simple white short-sleeved blouse and lime green trousers shorter with the length reaching her knees, and a pair of dark riding boots that were ankle-length. "What do you think?" she asked, doing a small twirl. _

"_If your mother is anything like mine, than I think she would have a heart attack if I even suggested wearing that to school," Chelsea answered, making them all laugh. _

"_I think it really suits you much better than the dress." Melody said. _

"_And it's extremely comfortable." Lauren joked, setting off another round of laughter. _

_When the laughter died down, Rosalina looked around at the faces of her roommates, already liking them and though they were all wonderful. She was so glad they bumped into each other earlier this morning because she got familiar with some classmates and made some friends, glad they were also her roommates because she could already tell they were going to be good friends. "I'm so glad you girls are my roommates."_

"_Me, too." Titania said. _

"_Me, three." Melody smiled. _

"_Hey. Me four." Chelsea grinned. _

"_And me five." Lauren giggled. _

"_We make a really awesome team and since we're roommates, I can already tell we're going to be great friends. Let's make a pact right now from this moment forward to be best friends." Luna said. _

"_Forever and ever and ever-" Chelsea added, but got cut off when Melody aimed a pillow right at her face, which nearly knocked her down. She glared at a laughing Melody who tried to apologized while she was giggling, but payback was needed for the moment, and Chelsea grinned as she tossed at the pillow back at the musical princess, laughing as the feathers got stuck in her hair. _

_They put their hands in, promising one another they were always going to be there for each other and nothing was going to break their sisterhood bond, jumping back as they raised their joined hands, cheering "Best friends forever!" _

Flora snapped her eyes opened, dazed and confused, shaking her head to clear her head that was spinning. She was thankful she didn't wake up with dry drool crusting her face, otherwise she was more than sure that was something her friends would never let live down, but she thought back to the dream she had.

It wasn't a dream though, it was a flashback.

Of Rosalina's first day of high school, meeting Luna and the girls, and the night they all became best friends, promising one another they were always going to be there for one another and nothing was going to break their bond.

It was so strange how Rosalina met her best friends almost the exact same way Flora met hers, how it was like watching a re-run of her first day at Alfea as a freshman, and how the girls' ancestors were exactly like them.

Flora stretched out her sore muscles, realizing how uncomfortable it was sleeping in a chair, and stole a glance at her friends, wondering if they noticed she was asleep for only who-knows how long.

The girls were off their seats, cheering as they stared out the windows, while the boys were high-fiving one another and cheering as well. Flora got off her chair and looked outside, understanding why everyone was so excited.

They were finally at Sunnyvilla Paradise.

The realm was just as Layla describe it from summers she spent here and Bloom told them how Hawaii was: completely sunny with the whole, Caribbean, topical island theme with so beaches piling with a bunch of people, waves crashing onto one another in the ocean waters Flora spotted as they rode passed them. They were exotic sightings like the huge volcano that was extremely close, which Layla informed them hasn't erupted in thousands of years, small stores and restaurants were all cute and located on over dozens different boardwalks, and music was vibrating loud from the dance clubs that Layla and Musa couldn't resist dancing to.

Their hotel was one of the biggest and apparently ones out of the whole realm, bigger and taller than ten grand palaces and castles combined, even looked like a grand palace with the beautiful courtyard featuring over a dozens tables and benches and a wonderful bubbly water fountain. The manager, a dark-skinned, handsome man with much thinning hair and dressed in a white suit greeted the guests warmly as they arrived with some employees dressed in either coconut bras or going shirtless, vivid flower necklaces and accessories, grass skirts dancing the hula music blasting from the hotel and giving out flower necklaces to the guests.

When they landed, Flora took in gulps of the salty ocean air, already liking the place.

"This place is awesome." Tecna said, already snapping pictures as her eyes darted around every direction.

"Living large like royalty and being with my girl," Brandon pulled Stella by the waist, bringing her close to him, and pecked her forehead. "Now this is what heavenly paradise feels like."

The manager came toward them with open arms, a huge and wide grin spreading across his face at once when he recognized Layla. "Layla," he spoken in what Bloom recognized as a Jamaican accent, pulling her and somehow managing to also pull her friends into one, big hug so tight they all were wincing a bit and trying to break free. "My favorite guest all grown up. How long has it I've seen you?"

"A bit too long. About three years to be exact. Guys, this is the hotel manger and one of my dad's longtime friends, Gobo. He used to be a count, but he soon retired early and became manager of this awesome place. Gobo, these are my friends," She pointed to each of them, so he would know who was who. "This is Bloom, Tecna, Stella, Musa, and Flora. Their boyfriends Sky, Timmy, Brandon, Riven, and Helia. And this handsome guy is my boyfriend, Nabu."

"Aww. Nabu, you say," Nabu nodded his head, and Gobo looked at with mischievousness in his eyes like the kind the gang sees in Stella's eyes whenever she's up to something, she _knows_ they wouldn't like. "Your father has mentions your name before in hopes of a betrothal between you two and making his a grandfather with many grandchildren. Tell me, has that happened next?"

The rest of the gang couldn't resist the urge to snicker and laugh uncontrollably, laughing so hard tears were rolling down eyes and they had to lean against one another to keep from falling from the ground. Like Riven and Sky were doing, lying on the ground, pumping one fist against the flat surface while practically dying from laughter. Layla and Nabu weren't blushing thanks to their dark coloring; although Nabu's was lighter and a faint shade of red was coloring. But they were glaring at their friends, giving them very cold and deadly looks, and then shooting those looks at Gobo, who smiled innocently like he has done nothing wrong.

"The engagement has been called off." Layla said.

"For now at least. Seeing how cute and perfect you two look together, I doubt it won't be long till the realm of Tides will be crowning the new king and queen, with a heir to the throne on the way."

Smiling at their blushing, shocked faces, Gobo snapped his fingers and the employees right on cue swatted around them, presenting them with beautiful flower necklaces and offering them refreshments. He then led them through the many grand features of the hotel after passing out their room keys, showing them the grand ballroom where they hold many dances and fun parties, the gym with the most up-to-date training equipment that would be perfect for the boys, morning dance and pilates that was perfect for the girls, many different pools including a huge one outside with a crazy waterslide connected to the wide ocean at a beach, the cute little cafes and restaurants.

Another snapped of his fingers, a group of bellhops came to take their luggages to their suites. But once Gobo saw how much suitcases Stella brought along with her, he shared a look with her friends who only nodded and called two dozens more bellhops to come carry her suitcases. "Once you are done unpacking, please join the other guests and me at the grand ballroom where we'll be having a welcome party. There will be hot music playing by an employee who's also a marvelous DJ and not the mention the all-you-can-eat buffet I had my cooks cook up."

At the sound of food, the boys were already sold, which had the girls shaking their heads at them. Partying seemed like a fun thing to do on their first day of vacation paradise, then after that they could go check out the entire realm.

The rooming would be simple: boyfriend will be with girlfriend and girlfriend with boyfriend sharing one bed in one, roomy suite. A rooming arrangement Stella had her traveling agent made no doubt when she called him. Their suites were all the way on the 23rd floor, all in the same way either next to or across from each other.

"So, do you think I should maybe change?" Flora asked Helia as they stepped into their suite. Like their friends' suite, theirs was very much roomy and was twice the size of Stella's closet, which was nevertheless to say a very _big_ space, decorated in the finest and elegant Renaissance interior right down to the carpeting and the silken bedding on their large, four-bed, dressers attached to a big mirror, and even the bathroom was done in the same style. The room also featured a beautiful balcony that featured an amazing view of the city.

"Why do that when you already look as lovely as a rose." Helia said, making a statement instead of answering a question. Flora blushed as she smiled at his sweet words, and he smiled while placing a lingering kiss on her cheek, sending pleasurable tingly chills running up her spine with his touch. "But I'm going to take a quick shower though. I barely had time to get ready before the guys came to get me."

"Okay, do you want me to unpack for you?" Flora asked.

"It won't be a problem?"

"No trouble at all."

"You're too good to me, you know that."

Her response was only a smile.

While Helia was in the shower, scrubbing away and whistling a cheery tune as he bathed, Flora unpacked their suitcases. Like her, he also packed light with two suitcases and a worn-out looking, navy-blue duffle bag. She would neatly fold his shirts and shorts before tucking them inside the dresser's drawers, pile his shoes under the dresser like she did with hers, and would often blush as she slowly pulled his boxers or underwear. When she was through with the suitcases, nearly done with his duffle bag, she spotted something very interesting at the very bottom of his duffle, hidden under a dark blue night shirt.

A plain, teal-blue hardcover book adorned with simple yet beautiful doodles sketched on the corners.

Curiosity pricked Flora as she slowly retrieved her book, looking down at it.

Except for the doodle designs decorated on the corners, there was no title on it. Nor was it on the binder, leaving Flora with the conclusion it was indeed a journal. She knew Helia didn't usually carry books around unless they were sketches and filled with endless poems, so she wondered what he needed it for.

Flora knew it would be more than wrong to invade personal privacy and open it with Helia's says so, but a feeling inside refusing to settle down told said something inside the book could hold the answer to the question she has been wondering lately. Letting curiosity get the best of her, she opened the book quickly without a second thought.

Only to held her breath when she spotted something downright shocking inside the cover, bottom at the left corner.

_Julio Gabriel. _

Flora felt her heart stopped for a good five seconds before dropping all the way to the very pit of her stomach as her eyes widened so big, they were nearly popping out.

She read the name once or twice, maybe even over ten times in less than three seconds, telling herself over and over this had to be one coincidence.

No matter how many times she told herself this, she was only fooling herself if she were believed it otherwise. There was no mistaking it.

The signature was so similar to Helia's that it was exactly the same, but somehow his cursive writing was a tad bit more sloppily but still managed to look neat.

She quickly flipped through the book; getting a whiff of his signature scent still lingered in the pages: fresh pinecones, his sweet and musky cologne she always thought was so delicious, a smile was spreading her face as she deeply inhaled it.

Getting a whiff of his scent, quick flashes of special memories she shared with him ran through her mind, seeing how he practically took the book with him everywhere. How every time they were alone in the woods, she would always wander around the flowers while he was seated at his favorite high rock, scribbling away in the book and only smiling at Rosalina whenever she asked him about it. How he was always handy in it and writing his most private thoughts whenever he was alone.

This was Julio's diary.


	15. Chapter 15

There was absolutely no mistaking it.

The book she was holding in her hands was definitely a diary that belonged to a man she loved in her past life over eight hundred and seventy two years ago.

The pages were dark yellow from long age, but it was only a miracle the writing was still easy to read.

Where had Helia found it? How in the realms did he get it?

Flora kept asking questions to herself she didn't have answers to.

Helia was probably going to be in the shower for at least another ten to fifteen minutes, so that would give her more than enough time to get through more than halfway through the book, thanking the good heavens she was a swift-reader. She would never like to be one of those nosy people invading others' privacy, but inside the book could hold answers to her questions. As much as she hated invading privacy, which should remain _private_, it would be foolish of her to pass up this opportunity lying in front of her.

_Please forgive me_, she thought as she stole a glance at the bathroom, hearing Helia still whistling his tune. Flora got herself comfortable as she laid her back on the buttermilk, soft bed. Her heart was racing and beating as loud as a bongo drum, thundering in her eardrums.

She propped the pillows nicely against the headboard and rested her head there, gazing down at the teal blue diary for the longest time that felt like a century before she reminded herself she was wasting time.

She treated the book with utmost care as she held it up in her hands, brought it close enough for her to read, and without any second thought she opened it and started to read.

Just as she expected, Julio was a very passionate young man about things that mattered most to him, having trouble explaining that to his family and friends who didn't seem to understand or at least tried to, and expressing himself freely and letting all his bottled-up thoughts in words he scribbled onto the pages. In the diary entries, he talks about his love for the beauty he finds in nature, art, and poetry, which were the things that mattered most to him; dreams of traveling around the entire magical universe, exploring different realms and meeting new people, and possibly growing up to be a great artist and poet; the difficult, no-so-warm relationship he has with his family featuring his cold-fish of a father, Jonathon, who wasn't the friendliest or warmest dad you've ever met, his two older arrogant and ignorant brothers, Julius and Tiberius, who were twins and believed very highly in fighting like their dad, and his quiet mother, Julie, who chose to be not mostly seen or speak to and preferred to be alone with her cigarettes and paintings, which was where Julio inherited his love for art; the daily arguments he would have with his father and brothers day after day on the subject of him attending Red Fountain like his brothers did and becoming a hero; and, of course, about Rosalina.

_Dear Diary, __December 25__th__ 1135,_

_I cannot how long anticipation I have within myself with the slow arrival of spring, my favorite season of the year. I can't tell you how much I can't wait to feel warm sunshine in my face and a calming, light breeze inside an arctic chill, and the sweet scent of flowers hovering in the air. Unfortunately, it will be a long time before spring arrives, so till then I must bare winter. The holidays were the same as usual, a mix between no so good and not so horrible. Though I must confess, things would have been better if Julius and Tiberius weren't taunting me while I was drawing with my father secretly enjoying it while mother as usual was no help. It shouldn't come to as a surprise to me, since my brothers are clearly my father's favorites while I'm the surprise third child they all known me as and my mother's favorite, though she doesn't always lend help to her favorite. I've grown used this lifestyle, so it shouldn't be surprising me, but the thing I can do is hope things will get from how they are now to better. _

_-Julio_

_Dear Diary, __March 1__st__, 1136_

_Spring has finally sprung-thank goodness. Today, bright and early in the morning, I went to the city of Magix, to the woods, where I would be around nature scenery and do my poetry and sketches in peace. Imagine my surprise I meet a stranger who was talking a morning run through the woods at the same time and place I was drawing. This stranger captured my attention quickly and stopped running when she met my gaze. She goes by the name Rosalina, a very beautiful name for such a beautiful girl as herself. I wish I could properly explain her, but words don't seem to do enough to describe how she is. She has the sweet fairness of a gentle rose and gentle angel, beauty so fair and strikingly breathtaking the angels above would be envious of it, and is the very definition of beauty and kindness-because she is just as sweet and kind as she is very beautiful both inside and out. There is something about her so special, so lovely; I was practically powerless to the urges I wanted-needed more. But I refused to like a predacious beast toward such a fair, lovely creature and was a gentleman. I do pray though I met this lovely rose again. _

_-Julio. _

_Dear Diary, __April 10__th__, 1136_

_Is it possible to feel such a powerful connection to someone you've known for only a short amount of time? That's exactly how I feel toward Rosalina, my beautiful Rose, and can only prays she's aware of the connection between us. It's like we're two halves of one person, two pieces to the perfect puzzle. We have so much in common, it should be considered alarming, share the same interest and believe in following our dreams, and she seemed to be the only person I have ever met in my life who has ever fully, completely understand me. She's the only maiden to look at me with non-judgmental eyes as I told her I'm an art student instead of a hero. That only seemed made a smile spread across her beautiful face, which was the most beautiful smile I ever seen, unlike other maidens who sneered at me and moved onto the next fellow. I'm truly glad I met a new friend like Rosalina. _

_-Julio_

The more Flora read on, the more intrigued she was of the book and she was unable to pull her eyes away from the pages she turned on. Reading the diary was like seeing the world through Julio's eyes and getting inside his head.

If one thing was clear from reading the diary, Rosalina was definitely something he held very dear to his heart by the way he spoke very highly of her and how practically most of the entries were about her. He talked about how wonderful she was, surprised someone as wonderful as her wasn't betrothed to another or at lease seeing someone else; the times they spent together, which seemed more wonderful and peaceful than the last; and the strong, unquestionable feelings he has for her. The friendship between them was growing stronger and stronger till he found himself falling head-over-heels, _hard_ for her, and they were falling in love with each other.

In a six-page diary entry, after nearly a year of great friendship, Julio wrote down the day they met up at the woods, with plans of him doing a portrait of Rosalina, the plans changing when he chased her around the entire woods for acting silly instead of being serious and still, and ended up kissing her. He described the kiss as something utterly and wonderfully indescribable, something ten times better than he could ever imagine it to be, and was especially wonderfully because she also responded and they finally confessed their feelings for one another. Then goes on, writing, they spent nearly the whole day talking more and stopping every now and then to share slow and deep or light and soft, sweet kisses.

_A day I thought was going to be ordinary turned out to be absolutely extraordinary. It was truly a day I will never forget for the rest of my life. _

Flora goes on to read more and more about Rosalina and Julio's relationship, seeing now how it was very similar to the one she has with Helia. And how they were falling more and more in love with each other with each passing day.

There was also another person starring on the rest of the entries: Alaric, or as Julio described him as _'the cursed devil-demon'_. He starts noticing the way Alaric stalks and watches Rosalina's every move with hungry eyes, writing each time they turned around he was always there with a sick smirk on his face. By the bitter words he wrote, it was obvious Julio not only disliked Alaric and found him to be annoying, he _loathed_ him with all his being.

Reading on and on, Flora discovered she was right about an early theory she thought about: Julio never believed Rosalina was truly at fault of her treacherous ways and suspected Alaric knew something she didn't. He always suspected she fallen under the dark spell of the power, believing by massive dark magic and evil the Midnight Raven had it would be more than easy for anyone to be under its' dark, evil spell. He believed when Rosalina accepted the power and let it flow inside her, it changed her from the kind-hearten fairy they all known into a cold, heartless she-devil witch.

And a gut-wrenching feeling Alaric knew about that, but chose not to tell.

_June 31, 1139_

_Nighttime has fallen again, but then again it's always impossible to tell what time it is now. Chelsea can no longer tell us what the time of day is because she says the sun, moon, and stars are lost in the dark blooded skies. It has been over a year since the horrible accident, known to us as the day when the hell broke loose and the devil came to rule. The day when someone who was a dear friend to us all turned into a great enemy and when I lost someone I loved and cared about more than anything else in the world and will forever love for all eternity. _

_People say the girl we once knew was no more and there was nothing left of her expect a cold monster who isn't satisfied unless a life has been brutally taken away and even more pain is caused and spread than the last. But my friends and I do not believe those cruel words. We all know who the real Rose is and she would never do anything like this. My Rosalina would kill herself before serving the dark arts of magic. The one who now is known as angel of darkness named Libitina is no more than an imposter who wears the mask of beloved's beautiful face. _

_I curse the very day I met the cursed devil-demon who stands by her side like the plaything he was, daring to wrap his filthy arms around her and kiss her lips after she finishes the destruction of one planet then goes to another. He had something to do with this, he must have known the power would have spelled her and turn her evil. _

_I pray, along with the others, with every breath I have and ounce of my being we will find someway to stop all this pain and suffering the dark angel caused. And saved my beloved Rosalina, or, by the great gods, I will die trying. _

_-Julio_

According to Alaric and Rosalina, she was eighteen when she got the Midnight Raven power and became the dark angel, and that was in the year 1138. Reading more of Julio's entries, Flora discovered Libitina died when she was only twenty-four, which meant she ruled the entire magical universe for four years. The longest four years Julio described as a never-ending bath of bloodshed spilling onto the ground, defeated people being taken in as prisoners to have their souls sucked from their bodies or molded into stone statues with expressions of fear and terror written on their faces, screams and wicked laughs thundering in the skies, and the pain and chaos only getting more horrible to even fight it anymore.

It pained Flora to read more because now she could see a clear picture of Julio and all their friends huddled at a safe base, probably at a campsite or abandoned building where no one would find them, having no other choice than to listen and probably see the horrors going around. She could picture Julio up late at night while the others were slepping and writing in his diary near a candle he lit up, his eyes narrowed and head bent forward while he trying hard to write with the dim light. Expressions of infuriating anger or unimaginable sorrow marking his face as he wrote new entries in this book.

There was one last entry, dated the night before they went off to the final battle with the dark queen. An entry Flora had to read over and over repeatedly as her heart nearly dropped all the way down to the pit of her stomach.

_December 30, 1142_

_This will no doubt be my final entry I write in this book. These four years, full of bloodshed and darkness and suffering, have been the absolute worst of my life. The worst of all our lives and will doubtlessly go down in Magix's history. Tomorrow will be the day-the day where we finally put an end to all this and the dark angel. The plan is for us to surprise her with an attack at her mansion in the dark dimension. The boys and I have gathered up thousands of rebel fighters while the girls got thousands of fairies and witches to join our army. I can only hope it will be enough to be beat her. _

_I tried to go to sleep early, so I can be well-rested for the big battle awaiting us tomorrow. Except I was soon awakened by the most bizarre dream, which felt too vivid to be a dream and more like a vision of some sort. A dream of me with my Rosalina again, except at a different setting, wearing different clothes and with people who looked like our friends but weren't them exactly, in a different time. I dreamt I was back at Red Fountain sitting at one of the rows of a huge stadium and sketching birds who was in front of me. Then a boy who looked a lot like Brad came over to introduce me to his group of friends. A pink-purple haired girl who could be a duplicate of Titania, a blonde whose personality and looks were a lot like Chelsea, and another girl. _

_Shy and soft-spoken, I could tell already, but very much beautiful with emerald, vivid-jeweled eyes, flawless and smooth tank skin, a head-full of flowing caramel hair tumbling down her shoulders and cascading down her back, and a awe-inspiring face so beautiful and familiar my breath was immediately taken away when I looked at her. She took one look at my drawings, explained to her friends the meaning behind my drawing and gave me a compliment with a beautiful smile on her face. As I took the drawing back from her, I was both stunned and pleased, saying how I liked how she got that and watching her smile widen. _

"_That's our Flora for you." Bradley's look-alike said, failing to notice I wasn't paying attention to his words and too busy gazing at the beautiful light-haired brunette retuning my gaze. _

"_It's really nice to meet you, Helia." She told me. _

_That's the day I first met Helia, _Flora thought, bewildered as she continued to read.

_Luna was the only one still awake while the others were fast asleep, so I confided in her about my strange dream. While I was telling her about it, Luna listened to me patiently but there was something in the expression on her face letting me know that my words strangely weren't all that shocking to her. Turns out while I was sleeping and she was talking to the others about our plans for tomorrow, the Great Dragon showed her a vision how all of us, including Rosalina, will all be dead. My friends will die from the battle first, and I and Rosalina will the only one still alive, fighting it out and killing each other at the same time. I killed her with a dagger I dipped in the deadliest poison known throughout the realms, which only takes a matter of seconds before it kills, I thrust into her heart while she struck a strong bolt of darkness through my heart. I died first, but Rosalina was only alive for a few seconds and did a spell of reincarnation on herself. _

_She vowed she would rise again one day to take back her throne, and then fell on top of my dead body, dying at once. Except there was one detail on the spell she forgotten about. She would be reincarnated again along with the person she holds close to her heart. _

_Me. _

_Oh my goody goodness! _Flora was too shocked to even breathe as she read about the last part ten times and was still unable to believe it. She forced herself to read more.

_She told the others of their fate, but they still chose to face it and fight, like the brave and great friends they are. She then had another vision of me and Rosalina-which she used her magic to send into my dream. _

_Luna's visions always come true and that means we will die tomorrow but will still accomplished our goals, Rosalina and I will kill each other, she will cast a reincarnation on herself (and unknowingly on me), and our reincarnates will meet again in the future soon time soon and hopefully share the wonderful times I shared with Rosalina. _

_I failed my beloved in this life, but I can only pray in my next life my reincarnate will do Rosalina's reincarnate proud. I pray if we do meet again in another life, we will meet in happier times and the love we shared will only be stronger. _

_I don't know what date we will meet again, though Luna said it will be in over eight hundred years and believes we'll meet at Red Fountain in either the crisp autumn or fresh spring. _

_Rosalina's reincarnate name will be Flora, another beautiful name that is also very suitable for her. _

_Mine will be Helia. _

_Helia. _

_Helia. _

_Helia_.

The book suddenly fell from Flora's hands, dropping onto the floor with a soft thud but was as loud as thunder to her ears. She wiped her hands on her mini skirt, as if to wipe clean any evidence she ever touched it, and then brought them up to cover her mouth while slowly standing away from the book with her eyes.

This had to be the first time he ever lied to her. The truth was he was had already taken a shower before his friends came to get him. He turned on the shower so she would hear running water and whistled since that's what he normally did in the shower.

Helia was actually standing in front of the bathroom mirror, staring hard and at his reflection. He was starting to, at some point, feeling hot, despite the fact the bathroom was overly air-conditioned, and took his shirt off but still felt hot.

He felt so stupid for not telling her the truth because there were no secrets in their relationship and they told each other practically everything. She would understand what was going on since the same thing was happening to her, too. Only he wasn't sure how to explain it.

After Helia dropped her off at the train station, he took his own ride home. Going back home wasn't the same happy, welcoming experience his friends had when they went back to their realms. It was quite the opposite: a very average, bittersweet feeling in him when he got off his train, walked through his village and saw things haven't changed, walked to his small house and knocked on the door. He realized even if he knocked no one would bother to answer, so he used his keys to unlock the door and walked on in, seeing his family was in the living room.

His mother, Katherine, smiled at him briefly at him and pecked his cheek before going to the kitchen to cook up something. His dad, Antonio, nodded his head slightly with a cool, unreadable expression on his face and returned to reading the paper. And his cocky, older brother Zane patted his shoulder, as if it was sign of welcoming, before heading off to meet his big group of friends.

Zane, who was his senior by two years, has always been the favorite of their father for as long as Helia could remember. It was pretty obvious by the way Antonio treated his older child like great companion, whose company he enjoyed having, with care and love while the relationship with his younger child seemed like an unexpected extra mouth to feed, clothed, and taken care of. His dad took care of him, clothed him, taught him his studies, but he didn't seem to show any care and their relationship was difficult, stiff and anything but warm.

Helia was instead mostly the favorite of his mother, who taught him how to draw a picture when he was still in diapers. She was the one who opened his eyes to poetry and taught him everything he knows today about art. The only problem with her was, unlike their outgoing father who can make best friends with everyone in less than five seconds, his mother was quiet and painfully shy, preferring to be alone with her paintings and her cigarettes.

Soon after he got all settled in, once again seeing things haven't changed that much, his dad suggested they do some quality bonding and clean out the attic. That's the only activity he has ever done with his dad, which seemed more like unwanted chore on both of their accounts. He wasn't up for the job, but knew better than to go against his father and complain unless he wanted another death glare look. He dressed in his old sweat pants and a ratty old shirt, and after breakfast, they went up to their cluttered attic that was over-packed with old, dusty boxes, spider webs gathering up in the ceiling and the corners, and so much dust that was more than enough to make someone break into a fit of sneezing.

He had compared with gloves and a mask covering his mouth and nose from inhaling the dust. Helia worked hard and swift as he swept the floors with his dad in silence, then used the broom to brush off the spider webs on the ceiling, helped organize category and organized the boxes into neat stacks, and used a feather-duster to tidy the wall length, sturdy book case and dusted off every book of the hundreds shelved.

That's how he found the book.

While he was dusting off the last book, which was a biography written by his great grandmother about the history of the elements, he noticed a loose floorboard was nearly falling apart. Out of curiosity, he checked it out and discovered a teal book hidden under there for only God knows how long. The strange thing about it was there was no title and only drawings on the corners, a diary that was old but didn't have any dust in it, and looked very familiar about it.

He supposed he should have told his dad about it, but decided against it. It was because his dad would only shrug it off and tell him to put it with the other books.

So instead, he tucked it inside his pocket and returned to cleaning.

Later that night when dinner was eaten and he escaped to his room, Helia found out the diary belonged to Julio, his over…ten time grand-uncle. The same Julio, who hated Alaric as much as he did, loved Rosalina with all his heart but hated what she had become and had to kill for the sake of others.

He spent the whole night reading the diary and all the entries Julio had written down, pushing the annoying feeling of exhaustion and continuing to read. He read every entry in that book, re-read the final entry so many times he could memorize it in his sleep and recite every word, and his mind was a complete blur after that.

He closed his book, tucked it under his pillow, and fell into a deep sleep immediately.

It wasn't till then that he was seeing quick flashes whirling through his mind and reliving some memories off the old times. Like escaping home to have a moment of peace, writing and drawing in his books down to the last page, meeting Rosalina at their special place where they shared kisses and special times, and having merry times with his group of his friends which was a family of good friends he made at Red Fountain and best friends/roommates Rosalina made at Alfea.

Glaring at Alaric with his undeniable deadly hatred-filled eyes and wishing the demon was wiped off the face of the universe, the anger he felt when he found out Rosalina betrayed them all and was playing both him and Alaric. And finally unbelievably sadness as he, having no other choice in the matter, thrust a dagger into her chest and her beautiful face the last thing he saw before everything went black.

Everything was so dark when the last image popped up. But as he looked at Rosalina's face, he felt a sharp shock going through his chest and piercing like a sharp knife through his heart. It was so painful; he was surprised he didn't wake up then. Everything faded to black.

It was so dark, he couldn't see a thing. He almost thought for a moment he was really awake and had gone blind.

Till he found himself staring at a full length mirror, locking eyes with his reflection. The mirror was the only thing reflecting light in the dark room.

The way the reflection Helia's face was fit into an expressionless, cool mask, opposed to the actual Helia who was dumbstruck and shocked, gazing at him with such intensity sharpening in his eyes, which were cool and narrowed into slits.

"_Remember and protect her."_ The reflection spoken, sounding almost exactly like him but was more mature.

"Julio?" He knew he was going on a limp here with his guess, but when he saw the sharp intensity in his eyes, he knew he was correct.

"Remember and protect her." Julio repeated again more stern and firmly, like it was important thing he wanted Helia to know and remember in his sleep. He reached out his left hand toward Helia, and somehow the hand was able to break through the cold glass and press two fingers against Helia's forehead.

It was hard to explain what happened after that. Helia could only feel as Julio's two fingers were slowly phasing through his forehead, along with the rest of his hand, and soon his entire body was phasing right through him. He could feel something connecting with him within, showing him things familiar and of things were important and close to him, and becoming whole with him.

Helia finally snapped his eyes opened, looking into the confusion and slightly concerned looks of his parents' face, surprised to see the one on his father's. They were standing by either side of him, their hands tightly gripped on his shoulders and shaking him like crazy. It turns out he has been sleeping for two and a half days straight and they were close to taking him to the hospital.

Fast-forwarded to right now with him looking at his reflection, which returned his sharp and intense gaze, trying to think with his head while his mind was whirling around so many thoughts.

Despite the flashbacks racing through his mind, the nausea spinning, and the fact his head was continuing to fill up with so many things that was he was sure it was close to exploding, there was one thing clear.

A thing unmistakable and something undeniable.

The resemblance between him and his great, _very_ grand great uncle was un-canning and extraordinary remarkable, their personalities were one and the same, and now his memories were all inside him.

He was really the reincarnation of Julio Gabriel.

In a way it was something he suspected when this whole thing started, and his suspicion increased after the small chat he had with Rosalina (before she knocked him out). The only thing he needed was evidence to clarify his theory. He couldn't pin it down with just looks and personalities since that was already the common ground his friends had with their past relatives, but now he had the solid evidence he needed.

He possessed Julio's past memories. Every memory Julio ever had was now inside him, remembering everything he knew of and experienced in his past life but now remembering what he needed to do.

_I vowed to protect her! To protect her from what made her become what turned her into a monster in the first place. And most of all stop Alaric at all cost_, he thought.

He decided to finally tell Flora the truth about, which he was sure was going to shock her like it did him. He left the bathroom, not bothering to put back on his shirt. He saw Flora was outside on the balcony, gazing down at the courtyard and her eyes sometimes flickering over to the breathtaking mountain with the ocean directly under it and had a huge waterslide spiraling all the way down to the wide, clear blue waters.

"Hey, there you are." He said.

"I was never missing in the first place." Flora said.

"Oh," He was slightly surprised by the sharp edge in her voice. "Well then…Flora, we need to talk about something."

"Is it important?"

"Very," He nodded, and then realized she wouldn't be able to see it since he was standing right behind her. "Flora, this isn't going to be easy to tell you and will be a guaranteed shock but-"

"You know what?" She cut him off suddenly. "While you were in the shower, I was unpacking our stuff and I found something. Something so, very interesting."

Helia remained cool and calm on the outside, knowing she would sense something was off if he acted otherwise, but was panicking about the diary. He cursed him silently for not remembering about the diary when he told her she could unpack his stuff.

"I found a teal book and imagine my surprise when I find out its very interesting to read. Filled with so many interesting chapter entries. But then again you would know about it since it's your _damn_ book in the first place, _Julio_." It wasn't till then that she finally turned around to face him, and that's when he noticed the diary she was dangling in her right hand and her eyes flashing with both sadness and anger.

"Flora-how did-why would," Helia was loss at words and rubbed his temples, trying to calm himself and started over again. "You have no right going through that that. If it's in _my_ bag, then it's _my_ property. You going through my stuff are an invasion of privacy." He said, realizing how ridiculous he sounded at the moment.

"_An invasion of privacy?_" She repeated his words, raising an eyebrow and her voice sounding cool. She started to laugh, laughing so hard her sides were nearly hurting and she wrapped one arm around on her stomach while she still hold the diary in her other hand. "Invasion of privacy? Now, you have got you be…_FUCKING KIDDING ME!_"

The next thing Helia knew, the book was tearing fast in the air as it hurled toward him. Luckily he was able to duck with his quick reflexes, dodging the book in an instant before it made contact with his face and hearing a scattering sound as it crashed against the mirror.

Helia let out a low whistle as he eyed badly damaged mirror, seeing the broken glass sprinkling on the dresser top and spilling onto the floor. When he turned back to Flora, he saw his girlfriend was trying to calm herself down by taking in slow, deep breaths while covering her eyes with her hands.

Flora was one of the calmest people he knows who always know how to keep her cool, so hearing her curse and seeing that little demonstration with the book and watching her blowing off some steam was very shocking to Helia.

She let out her last breathe of anger slowly and deeply, finally getting herself together. She went off to the balcony again, placing her hands on the balcony and staring straight ahead. She warned Helia not to come near her when she heard his footsteps, and he respected her wish.

She asked him how did he find the diary and he told her everything that happened when he went home. "Are you serious?" she asked when he was done talking. "You found a diary that's nearly nine hundred years ago in your attic? That just sounds unbelievable to me."

Helia felt the same way and could only shrug. "I really don't understand it. The only thing I came up with was my old house was his and no one else has lived there in…years."

Flora was quiet then, not saying anything else to him. She was murmuring things to herself, and Helia was able to catch a few of the words like "It can't be, his soul was let go,"

"Flora." He tried to get close to her, and she warned him to keep his distance.

"You can't be him." She said, sounding more convinced of it than she was.

"I am," He took inaudible footsteps, so she wouldn't hear him coming closer to her. "You also know in your heart it's true."

"Julio died that night. I-_Rosalina_ killed him. She let his soul go, and that was the end of that."

"Then she cast the spell of reincarnation on herself, so you would be born years later. But what she didn't know was there was a loop-pole in the spell, saying she and the person she holds close to her heart would be reincarnate again. This is the reason why I'm with you now."

Helia was now only a step away from her. Flora slowly turned around to him, her face hooded and unreadable while long, slow tear drops were rolling down cheeks. She looked him straight in the eye, took a step forward that closed the distance between them, and pressed both her hands against his chest, at the exact spot where his heart was beating at, and slowly closed her eyes. Blackness came upon him when he felt something stirring inside of him, looking into the deep depths of his being. It was an incredily, numbing cold feeling, but soon ended when Flora slowly pulled her hands away and looked up at him.

"You are him. I could feel it…" Tears were spilling more and harder from her eyes, but she was still able to talk through them. "What was so important that you had to be reincarnate again?"

Helia took her in his arms, holding onto her tightly and placing his finger under her chin, so she would look up at him. He was looking at her like he was seeing her for the first time in his life, which was the same expression she saw on his face when they both saw the first flashback of Julio and Rosalina's kiss, with such adoration and astonishment in his eyes. "I came back the same reason why you let my soul go. Because you loved me as I you."

She immediately pulled away from him, anger suddenly flashing in her eyes. "You _killed_ me, Julio! You thrust a dagger into my heart and killed me!" she loudly and angerily said, nearly yelling at his face. There was quick flash of blood red in her eyes, but as quickly as it appeared, it also quickly vanished. "You can't expect me to forget about what happened and let us start over fresh. Everything I dreamt and worked hard for, you immediately tore away from me when you thrust that knife into my chest."

"And I cannot even begin to tell you how much it nearly killed me to do it. If there were another way it could have done, I would have chosen that instead. But there wasn't."

"I told you the same thing I repeated dozens to Luna, Titania, Melody, Lauren, and Chelsea and the rest of the boys. I promised I wouldn't hurt you and keep you safe if you stayed out of my way and let me do what I want. Why didn't you listen?"

Helia was starting to look mad himself, couldn't believe the question she was asking and unable to understand why she couldn't understand it. "_You couldn't possibly expect us to lay low and keep quiet while you were destorying our realms! _To stay silent and watch innocent people get killed and tortured, planets getting destoryed right in our eyes, and you expect us to pretend nothing wrong was happening. I'm sorry, Rose, but that was something we couldn't do."

"Then what the hell is the point of you even being here in here? So, we can finish what we started. If that's the case, I'm really not in the mood for it and leave Alaric to deal with you."

He shook his head slowly from side to side, staring at her dumstruck. "You really don't seem to understand how much I loved and care about you! How I died that day when you walked away with Alaric, was sickened by the horrible things you had done and wished I could hurt you the way you hurt me. Only I couldn't."

"Why not?" She said. "The day I became Libitina, the great angel of darkness, emotions were pointless and I've given up on them. I felt nothign at all when I destoryed those realms and killed people. NOTHING AT ALL."

"But you told me you felt regret later for what you had done to me and your friends," He watched the anger slowly dissolved from her face, cooling down into a mask of unreadable expressionles. "You wanted to forget abotu the longing and love you felt for me, but couldn't. Nor could I. I loved you, Rosalina, even when you done all the horrible acts you committed. I'm glad I was reincarnated becuase I met you again and fell even more in love with you."

"Was it worth it?"

He answered that question by kissing her. It was as simple as that, all the questions were answers, all the anger and reasons why she should loathe him, all fear she has been feeling were melting away in an instant. What she felt in the kiss was not an ordinary passion, but a love so strong and powerful it shook her. She trembled with love, longing, and pleasure she was getting from tasting his sweet mouth.

He encircled his arms around her waist and drew her to him, and she could feel the clean line of their bodies connecting-legs tangling legs, hips pressed against hips, chests heaving with one another. Without breaking the passionate bond of their lips, Helia backed her up against the balcony's railing till she could barely move and he had her exactly where he wanted her to be.

Then he started to really kiss her, softly at first as he nibbled on her ears like they were the delicious chocolate. Then slowly and long and tenderly, kissing her along her jaw line and down her neck, making her tilt her head back and moan softly. At last, he returned to her lips, kissing her with such powerful intensity-sucking on her bottom lip, then edging his soft tongue just past her teeth. She opened her mouth to let more of him in, showing how much she yearned for him and to match the force of his kisses with her own.

He loved her, he wanted her, and as they continued to kiss, he could feel her arms moving over his back and shoulders. Her hands pressed against his bare, lean chest, feeling the vibrating of his heartbeat going faster and beating harder. Her touch was electric against his skin, extremely warm and tingly.

He pulled away from her and stared down at her. She slowly smiled at him and pecked him softly on the lips, letting hers linger on his for the longest time which felt like nearly eternity.

"I made a vow to protect you, and that's a vow I plan to follow even if it's the death of me." Helia said, not making any small talk but a solid promise.

What the couple didn't realize was someone hidden from there view was watching them very closely, seeing and hearing everything going on there at the heart of Shadow Haunt and was able to view them with a magic crystal ball able to see everything and anything anywhere.

Alaric dunked his 6th cigarette in the ashtray and lit up a new one, placing it in his mouth and inhaling deeply.

"So the dim-witted pacifist is Julio," he said to himself when he titled his head back and let out a cloud of thick smoke.

How very interesting.

He wasn't going to roar again, which he did plenty enough for the day, and wasn't going to lose his cool. In a way when one thinks about it clearly, with Julio's reincarnation being thrown into the picture only makes things much more fun for him. It means another person added to the list of people he was going to enjoy killing when the prophecy comes true, and that person was on the top of his list.

"I hope he enjoys living his life because I plan to make sure his death is done slowly and brutally filled with so much pain, then make sure the raven consumes his pathetic soul so he could spend all eternity in pain." He laughed maliciously at the thought, loud and wicked and sounding like a true villain.

**A/N: Really hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter, and thanks for all the awesome reviews. They mean the world to me. **


	16. Chapter 16

They told their friends they couldn't go to the big welcoming party with them because they were busy. So, they kicked off their shoes, laid side-by-side on their big bed, and spent the whole night together.

It was so funny to Flora how they day turned out to be. Finally having a question that was spinning around in her head and discovering the boy she loved was the reincarnation of her same and only true love from the past. It was shocking to believe, too shocking that she almost didn't want to believe it. Fearing with the way things were and could become, she was terrified at the thought of painful and horrible things in history would happen to them again.

But that fear was put aside when Helia kissed her, then kissed her again and again till she was absolutely breathless. Spending the whole night together was like they were getting to know each other really well all over again. Often there would be comfortable silence where they stared long and deep into each others' eyes, holding each other's hands tightly and finding there was no need for words. Each time they kissed, it was like their first kiss all over again- in _both_ life times.

The next morning, they woke up at the same time and smiled at each other, saying good morning. After they dressed and got ready for the morning, they met their friends downstairs at a big table where they gathered in the beautiful, bright morning lounge and were served a huge breakfast feast by the chef, who had workers bring in the food in for them.

"Do they always serve meals this huge?" Bloom asked as she took a look at her plate, eyeing the huge platter of food. There were scramble eggs, sausages, French cinnamon toast, sizzling honey-glaze bacon, delicious egg and ham and cheese omelets, and a huge stack of scrumptious buttermilk pancakes topples with whipped cream and colorful and chocolate sprinkles all over it. Placed in the center of the table was a basket of biscuits fresh from the oven and fruits, another basket of fried dough puffs drizzled with chocolate and whipped cream, along a big pitcher of fresh-squeezed orange juice. 

Mr. Gabo already jumped into the question before Layla could open her mouth to say a word, giving them all a slight scare by popping out from behind Bloom's chair and offering them a bright smile. "Why, of course, sugar! Here at the Sunnyvilla Paradise, service is done with a smile and we cook up big meals so our guests can never, ever go hungry. Please contact me if you need anything. Ciao."

Riven stared after him when he smiled at them again and left them alone to eat, saying to his friends "Does anyone else think the guy is both nice yet so strange."

The responses to that question were nodding heads and murmurs of agreement.

While they were eating, the friends informed Helia and Flora how much fun they had at the party, saying it was incredible and wonderful but would have been much more fun if they had come with them. At the party, the ballroom was absolutely beautiful and decorated like a Hawaiian Party, the music was hot and people were crowding the dance floor, and the boys helped themselves at all the delicious, tasty-smelling food the chef whipped up for the event. There was even a karaoke-night performance where Musa won over the crowd by singing _Your love is my drug_ and a pig-eating contest where Riven and Sky were tied for first place by finishing over twenty pies in less than five minutes.

"If there was another minute added to the contest, I would have won and smoked your ass." Riven told Sky.

"Let it go, Riven. We were both tied for first, though I would easily win solo in less than ten seconds by scoffing down two more pies." Sky joked, making their friends snicker while Riven tossed a piece of avocado at his head, which Sky quickly dodged.

When they finally finished breakfast, their stomachs were full with food and their plates half-empty; they were discussing what they should do today.

"Shopping!" Stella immediately said, grinning.

"Oh, come on," Bloom said. "Stella, we're here in this beautiful realm that's like a Hawaiian, tropical paradise. And the first thing you wanna do is _go shopping_?"

Stella nodded, then glared back at the looks they gave her. "It's like you guys don't even know me at all."

"You know what? I wouldn't mind checking out a few stores I could check out the vintage shops and see the music stores." Musa said.

Tecna, Flora, and Layla weren't too opposed to the idea of doing a little early morning shopping. Bloom herself soon seemed to get into the idea of it. Only problem was the boys weren't too fond of the idea of going shopping with the girls, following them to a hundred different stores and holding their shopping bags.

"Why, don't we just head to the beach instead?" Sky said. "Beautiful sunshine, the wide ocean, and the fresh salty ocean smell in the air. We could go swimming, surfing, or parasailing?"

"And have ourselves a nice barbecue." Brandon suggested.

Tecna could sense a big debate, which would easily turn into World War III, would be coming soon, so she decided comprise would be the best way to handle things. "Maybe we can do this. We go shopping all morning-without any _complains_ from you boys, spend all afternoon at the beach, and head to a cool club at night."

Everyone was okay with that idea, but Riven, as expected, had some doubts about it. "Please tell me what would be the point of going to a club when you girls already danced your asses off at the party last night?"

"Same reason why you still manage to eat breakfast even though you nearly eaten down the entire buffet at the party." Musa said.

"Because we want to!" the girls happily cheered, doing a group five across the table.

Layla nudged Nabu playfully in the ribs, saying "Maybe you give them an encore of the smooth MJ you did on the dance floor?"

"It was nothing." He insisted, smiling sheepishly.

"If by _nothing_, you mean _fantastic_, then sure. It was absolutely _nothing_." Musa smiled knowingly.

"Since Helia and Flora missed the party, why don't you give them a treat of what you missed?" Layla suggested.

Having a small case of shyness hanging over him, Nabu tried to make a point they weren't even playing the song. But little did he knew, DJ Musa was on the case, ready to fix the little problem.

Trading smug, knowingly smiles with Layla, Musa conjured up a small musical sphere that fix the palm of her hand she bounced up and down in her hand. Then tossed it into the radio speakers and it wasn't long before Billie Jean was playing on the sound waves.

With some persuasion from his friends, who were all clapping rhythmically to the beat, Nabu got up from his seat and walked over to the center of the room that provided enough room to dance, catching the attention of nearby tables. He conjured up a simple, black fedora hat he swiftly with graceful movement propped onto his head and soon was moving his hips in a thrusting in and out dance move. He was dancing along to the music and performing Michael's legendary moves-with the crotch-grabbing, spin twirls with the leg kick, and the famous moonwalk he did in regular and slow motion.

_Billie jean_

_Bet my love_

He did the moonwalk one last time, swiftly spinning on his heel and tossing his hat to Layla, who caught it and smiled. When the music was finally done, he posed hard and loud applause welcomed him in.

Making another surprise appearance, Mr. Gubo popped right behind him, nearly giving the poor guy a heart attack. He pulled Nabu into a big hug, pulling him back a bit and sloppily pecking both his cheeks while Nabu was dumbstruck, and turned to the people "Do you see why we love Sunnyvilla Paradise? It's fabulous, fabulous, FABULOUS!"

With that being said, Mr. Gubo placed a big, sloppily wet kiss on Nabu's forehead and returned back to his post. Nabu smiled and walked politely at the manger till he was finally got from sight, then quickly got to work rubbing hard at the spots where he received those unwanted kisses and shuddering at the memory, and walked back to the table. Where his friends were immediately congratulating him.

"Once again, that was awesome." Layla smiled as she draped one arm across his shoulder and snuggled close to him.

"That would have made Michael proud." Musa said.

Riven, on the other hand, still couldn't take his eyes away from Mr. Gabo, who was typing away on his computer with that bright yet creepy smile on his face. "Seriously, is it me or is that guy really nice yet super creepy?"

It was such a beautiful day outside with the warm sunshine and calm breeze, the girls decided it was much better to hit the store on foot than taking a ride. Not to mention saving power and energy for the environment. Only walking around the entire place and carrying their girlfriends' shopping bags didn't seem so appealing to the boys, but knew better than to complain about it.

The vide was totally mellow and carefree as the girls walked into over dozens of different boardwalks and exploring nearly all the shops and boutiques. Going in store after store, trying on tons of cute clothes in the dressing rooms and tossing items they thought would look better on one another, cutting down the huge possible suggestions into a small selection, and keeping their spending to a minimum of their budget.

The girls would smile at the boys' grimace faces, finding it funny they were each carrying over dozens of shopping bags in nothing hands and looking like they were being tortured. They reminded them the shopping would be done soon and they would be at the beach sooner or later.

Truthfully Helia and Nabu weren't all that impatient with the shopping since it was pretty obvious to them the reason why the girls were checking out possibly every store they came across was to find the perfect present for Flora's birthday, which was now five days away. Helia still was struck on a gift idea, unsure what would be the perfect gift for Flora and needed her friends' advice later on the subject.

After spending all morning shopping, checking out stores, filling their new camera with hundreds of pictures and walking every inch of the shopping area, it was finally time to hit the beach and that made the boys very happy campers. The girls used magic to send their shopping bags back to their hotel rooms, conjured up all the stuff that was needed for a picnic at the beach, and headed over to one Layla said was the greatest one of the whole realm. It was right near a cool small village, but they first had to go through a trail in the hills to get there, where tangle undergrowth and thick trees towered over them, making sounds of the gushes from the wind get lost in its' branches.

Flora could hear the happy whispers of the trees and smiled, which was the exact way Stella was feeling when she was digging her wedge heels into the mucky ground. "Someone remind me why I came along with you guys?"

"Because you said you were dying to go swimming and get a tan." Bloom reminded.

"Stel, if you don't walking, then you can just go back to the hotel," Musa said. "They have plenty of pools there and I'm pretty sure the spa has a tanning room."

Stella shuddered at the thought of going into that machine. "Take my advice, girls, and never use those things. There's absolutely nothing more tackier than getting a fake tan from spray paint and those lights."

"I thought mixing stripes with plaid was tacky." Tecna said, making the rest of them laugh while Stella glared at her.

"You wouldn't be laughing if you had the unfortunate horror seeing such a fashion disaster-" Her talking soon changed into bloody murder scream, which startled everyone, as she took a unfortunate step into a small, nasty mud puddle and ruining her new shoes, which were a golden multi-colored wedge open-toe sandals with beaded straps. She screamed again when she saw nasty ants were taking a bath in the puddle. She immediately ran over to the rock to sit down and take her muddy shoe off, trying to wipe the mud off with a napkin she kept in her pocket but seeing it was somehow making it even more badly.

"Calm down, Stel," Brandon said. "It's only a shoe."

Judging by the bewildered and ice-cold glare she shot at him, he realized that might not have be the best thing to say to her. She hissed at him and said "Says you. This is from Spella McCarthy spring shoe collection, and this was the last pair the store had left of them. Do you realize how long I'm going to have wait till the store gets a new shipment of them?"

Layla reached into her red backpack she brought along with her to retrieve the extra pair of shoes she brought for cases like this and thought Stella could benefit from them. They were simple black flip-flops, cute in a simple way but really nothing like her designer shoes and Stella saw they were going to have to do.

After Stella changed shoes, they continued their walk and finally reached the beach. It wasn't too crowded, the ocean was so beautiful and smell was intoxicating, and there were a few small shops nearby. One vendor selling some food from hotdogs to ice cream and soda, a place where you can rent small boats, and one selling surfboards and hang gliders. Timmy and Nabu decided to try to go hang-gliding although Timmy was overcoming his slight fear of crashing into the water, Sky was going to try surfing though he has never done it before, and the rest were going to rent a boat and take turns going parasailing.

And the first one up would be Tecna, who was the exact opposite of being excited about it.

"This is completely illogical," She protested as Musa and Flora were suiting her up and strapping her into a harness attached to a huge orange parachute. "Why shouldn't Stella be on this thing first? She's the one scared of heights and is dressed for the thing."

Actually all of them were dressed for the beach, trading in their t-shirts and shorts for some bathing suits. Stella stripped down her t-shirt and denim mini skirt and was in a red one-piece swimsuit, which looked more like a lifeguard suit, while Tecna was in a strapless lavender top and shorts. Stella explained it was because they drew straws and she lost, and also she was only planning to get a tan in her swim suit.

"Wait a sec, Stella," Layla said. "You mean the only reason why you brought that was because you plan to get a tan in it?"

"Why dahling, of course." She said.

"Aren't you going to at least get into the water one time?"

"What would be the point of that? I would get it wet."

"So, you mean you bought a swimsuit with no plans of getting it wet but bought it because it only looks good?"

Stella nodded; making a bewildered Layla look at her dumbstruck but knew better to say anything else on the subject. Shaking her head at Stella, Layla turned to Tecna who was nervous about parasailing and assured her with a smile "Don't worry, Tecna. My old instructor taught me everything I knew about parasailing. I'll make sure Helia drives the boat at a easy speed, you'll be up in the air for fifteen minutes, and then me and Riven will reel you back in."

"You ready?" Helia asked, ready himself to drive the boat.

"Yes." Tecna lied, nearly squeaking out.

As the boat gathered up speed, she saw the parachute begin to fill and rise and felt her body lift gently off the deck. An adrenaline of both fear and thrill shot through her as she rose higher and higher, like she was flying only without her wings. Below her, the boat seemed toy-like, she could hear her friends cheering her on and saw their smiling faces as they waved to her and took a few pictures of this moment, and the vivid ocean was as bright as sapphire. The noise soon was slowly fading, and the sound of the wind filling the nylon parachute reminded her of a sheet flapping in the breeze.

She could see for miles and miles, islands surrounded by beaches, green rolling hills, and more ocean, huge and blue and stretching into infinity.

She felt so silly for being so afraid. This was amazing; this was completely, absolutely amazing.

Jumping off the high cliff the boat passed by were Nabu and Timmy, clutching tightly onto the handles of their gliders and sailing through the sky as they went higher and higher, nearly flying. Scratch that- really flying.

"Hey Tecna." Timmy yelled, as he sailed right by her, no longer looking afraid like he did earlier and looking like he was having the time of his life. She understood why and felt the exact same way.

"This is awesome." Nabu screamed.

Bloom caught something gliding through the water she immediately turned back to see. Sky was on his rented surfboard and nailing the hugest wave she had ever seen, looking so adorable in his blue swimsuit and with water glistening his body riding with a huge grin on his like he was king of the ocean. Stella grinned herself when she saw her snookums riding besides on his surfboard, hanging ten and waving to her with a smile of his face.

"Hey beautiful." Sky waved to Bloom and their friends.

"Stel, take a picture of this." Brandon said.

Stella was already on it, snapping pictures of Bloom's bo and taking nearly hundreds of her sweetheart, zooming in closer to get close-up and photos of his muscular chest looking even hotter wet.

"Great surfing, guys." Riven yelled.

The best friends were grinning big as the wave was lifting them higher and higher, making their girlfriends proud and friends cheering them on. They were doing so well-till Brandon suddenly lost his balance and accidently thrown himself against Sky, knocking them both off their boards and crashing head-firsts into the water.

As soon they came to the surface and gathered their boards, Riven burst into laughter as he snapped pictures of the two surfing _chumps_ and got punched on arms by Stella and Bloom.

"Too bad. They were doing so well." Flora told Musa. "But even though they crashed, it still looked fun. I almost wish I was up in the sky like Timmy and Nabu were or on the parachute now."

"I have an idea that could make this boat ride even more fun." Musa said with a gleam in her eyes.

"What did you have in mind?"

Musa only smiled at her and got close to the back of the boat, staring intently into the ocean and starting to sing. Flora has heard Musa sing countless songs before, but none were like the one she was singing now.

She wasn't singing a particular song with lyrics; her beautiful voice was being used as a musical instrument, just playing a few notes here and there into a beautiful piece. Sometimes her voice would be light and clear like the sky as she flirted with a few melodies; other times she would tilt her head back as her voice raisin enough to echo throughout the hills.

Flora could make out several or so figures racing closer to their boat, quickly picking up speed. As soon as they let out their wails and brought up their heads, the Winx girls, and Riven and Helia were able to make out what they were.

"Whales."

Flora now understood what Musa was doing; using her singing, she was able to call upon the whales and invite them to play. One baby whale was in front of them, leading them through the water, two at both sides, and one trialing behind, all singing their songs happily and doing amazing tricks for them.

"Look at them." Bloom said.

"Musa, I didn't know you could call to the whales." Layla said.

Musa shrugged, still smiling. "I'm the fairy of music and technically music is sound. So, I'm able to create any sound I can with my singing or playing an instrument."

"This is amazing." Stella yelled, throwing her arms over head, setting off another round of happy cheers from the whales.

But it wasn't over yet. Musa decided to try one last thing. Throwing her arms over head, reaching for the sky, and titling her head back, her voice carried out all the sky, powerful and quiet yet loud at the same time.

Suddenly a great white whale, a hundred times the size of the boat, leaped from behind her and jumped over the boat, drenching them with the water spilling from its' huge body, followed by two more baby whales who did a back flips in the air and also soaked them with water.

The beach was so much fun, and going to the club was even better. Layla took them to this really popular one called Under 21, a club where you don't have to be the illegal age to be out clubbing (but did need ID if you planned to drink). The place was packed with people; the DJ was spinning hot tunes on the turn table people couldn't resist shaking their bodies to; couples showing off their moves and giving the lonely audience a show by their very, sexy X-rated affection; and the bar was packed with people ordering drinks.

The girls looked hot, the boys outdid their selves looking hot, and they partied and danced hard till two in the morning, coming back to the hotel tired and ready to sleep hard. Flora traded in her strapless pink dress she wore to the club for her light blue nightgown, never being any grateful than she did as she crashed onto the comfy bed, falling asleep in less than five seconds.

Helia was just as tired as she was, but forced himself to stay awake for a while and think of good ideas for a birthday present, seeing now how tricky it was going to be more than he thought. Flora wasn't a complimented girl, who was easy to shop for since the things she liked were simple. Except he didn't want to give her something simple like another drawing or a bouquet for such a special birthday.

As he writing a list of possible present ideas, he was stumbling for another idea and turned his head back to take a look at Flora, smiling to himself when he saw the peaceful look on her face as she slept. She looked so beautiful and peaceful, her lips even curving up into a small smile. He sighed as he got off from the chair and walked over to the mini fridge to have himself a can of ginger ale, cracking the can open as quickly and quietly as he could so he wouldn't wake her and taking a gulp.

"She's like a beautiful sleeping beauty, wouldn't you agree?" Helia nearly choked on his soda and spit it out, rage soon hardening his face when he recognized the voice right away, and quickly turned around to face him and saw he was standing too close to Flora. "Alaric." He snarled through his gritted teeth.

"The one and only." The wrenched beautiful yet dangerous blonde-haired man who seemed almost angelic with his charming looks but was really a serpent and the devil in disguise, bowing low and enjoying to see the raw anger in Helia's eyes. As Helia looked at him, he recalled the pain he felt as Rosalina walked away with him, helping her change into a heartless creature no one could recognize anymore, and how he dared kissed Flora while she was spilt between herself and Libitina, taking advantage of her while she was still vulnerable. Helia nearly lost it and was close to punching him right in the face, but reminded himself to calm down before he did anything drastic.

"I suppose you're wondering what I'm doing here?" Alaric said, that annoying and smug smile both lit and darkened his face, as he walked small steps closer to Helia with his eyes glinting with amusement.

"Exactly, that was what I was thinking about."

He pouted his lips, wondering for a moment what his answer should be, finally saying "Just the usual. Seeing my soon-to-be queen and visiting my favorite person who will soon be dead when the time comes."

Helia wasn't sure what happened or how it did. One moment Alaric was taunting and smirking at him, fueling his anger, and the next he was being lifted up in the air and sent crashing against the wall, not exactly falling but was pinned down there and unable to move. The noise was enough to make Flora wake up, rubbing her tired-daze eyes and staring at shock by what was happening. As soon her eyes met with Alaric, the same anger Helia saw earlier in her eyes but somehow ten times fiercer flashed like fire in her eyes.

"Alaric!" she growled.

Alaric took a moment to relish the feeling of his name sounding so sweet when she says it, shivering in pleasure and licking his lips hungrily. "Like I said I always thought my name sounded so beautiful when a gorgeous girl like yourself says them."

Flora thrust her hand out and sharp thrones shoot from her palm, which Alaric quickly dodged and suddenly jumped on her, colliding their bodies in the bed. Helia tried to free himself from Alaric's spell and help his girlfriend, yelling so someone would come and help them but soon after seeing no one came to assist them, he realized Alaric must have sound-proof the room. After countless failed attempts, Helia saw he had no choice but to watch with panicked, horror eyes Flora desperately trying to escape from Alaric's grasp as the man pinned her down on the bed, straddling her hips and pinning her arms over her head, smiling at her struggling.

"Get off of me!" she yelled.

"Alaric, if you as so much as try anything to her, I swear-"

"You're in no position to be trying to make empty threats when you're pinned to the wall," Alaric shot him a cold smile Helia wished he could wipe off his face, and turned his attention to Flora, his smile slowly dissolving when he saw tears were forming in her eyes. "No need to cry, my dear. If you think I would do something distasteful such as raping you, let me assure you I would never do such a thing of the sort. You are far too delicate for that."

Flora spat at him, aiming a huge and nasty wad at his forehead. To her shock and disgust, Alaric smiled like she given him a kiss, wiped the spit off his forehead with his fingers, brought his fingers to his mouth, and actually liked it repeatedly like it was the sweetest thing he had ever tasted. _"You're sick!"_

"With pride," He added, licking off the last of her spit and sighed happily as he looked at her tempered face. "Libitina, if there's one thing I'm glad to say hasn't changed about you; it's your fiery attitude."

She spit at him again, trying to make it bigger than the last one and wetter. He didn't wiped it off like he had done earlier, but his smile widened and was bone-chilling and he could see someone was getting restless. Leaning in closer to her, he only glared at her and watched her face slowly becoming less mad and blanker and still. He could tell he had her right where he wanted her as she fell under the spell of his eyes, darkening like the vivid midnight sky and growing bigger to her imagination. "Sleep, my dear. Sleep and do not be awaken for several more hours. When you wake up, you will forget about what just happened." He compelled.

Flora tried to stay awake, tried to fight his compelling trick but it was too strong for her. She was passed out the moment blackness consumed her.

Alaric propped her comfortably in the bed and tucked her in nicely, gently brushing her hair away from her eyes and smiling as he looked at the peaceful expression on her face. He turned around to see Helia looked like he was a second away from exploding and wanted to kill him. That was something he would pay big money for to see the dim-wit try.

"What the hell did you do to her?" Helia demanded.

"Just thought the dear would need some sleeping. I'm not sure if you noticed, but she seemed a bit fiery."

"_YOU SON OF A BITCH!_" Helia exploded.

"Now let's not get feisty, shall we?" Alaric came close to him, examining him as his eyes darted up and down at him. "So, you're really Julio? You know, I always have a disturbing suspicion you were him but I knew if it was true, then I would gagged myself to sleep. Clearly, you're the same weak, spineless, dim-witted pacifist I met long ago."

"And you're still the same bastard who loves pain, loves seeing people dead and having their blood on you, and loved anything that has to do with misery altogether," Helia stated, ignoring the dark glare Alaric gave him. "Why did you do it, Alaric?"

"Do what?"

"Why would you give Rosalina the Midnight Raven power when you already knew it would make her evil?"

All the amusement and horror in his face were gone, and he looked at Helia like he had three heads and was speaking in pig Latin. "You actually believe I would do something as cold and evil as that?"

"I don't just believe, I _know_!" Helia said. "Dealing with someone cold-hearted and selfish like you, anything is possible."

"Care to enlighten me then, jackass." Alaric said.

"Gladly. Rosalina didn't a give a damn about you, but you thought if she had powers as strong as those, then she would be yours. Only you knew she would have never agreed to it, if she knew the consequences of those powers and what would become of her then she would had never agreed to it. Seeing her acting so much like you gave you satisfaction and you loved it. Love she was torturing people and causing chaos, loved she was acting like a she-devil witch, love she was actually giving you more attention than she ever had before. That has to be the lowest, most evil and selfish you could have ever done. But I guess it was worth it to you, because you were actually worth something to her and got the privilege of being her plaything."

Helia's head whipped the other side, bright stars dancing across his vision and painful ringing sound in his ear as Alaric punched him face so hard. He slowly turned back to face him , feeling his blood pooling inside his mouth, and actually spitting it at him and ruining another one of Alaric's expensive, designer suits. "I knew you were heartless before, but that…that has to the most heartless act you ever done."

Alaric's expression didn't change one bit as he glared at Helia, amusement erased from his eyes and looking more somber and angry than Helia has ever seen him before. Waving his hand, Helia was dropped down to the ground hard and he watched him caring for his jaw and spitting out more blood. "You know," he said, his voice cold and deadly "I always knew from the moment I met you, you were nothing but a pathetic buffoon who's not even worth to wipe scum off someone's shoes. But right now, you really proven to be you're not only a buffoon, you're sad and idiotic."

"You said nothing and turned Rosalina into a monster!" Helia exploded.

"Do you really think I would something like that to her? Deceive her? I loved her with all of my being and love was something I never thought would be possible for me, I cared about her more than a nut-case like yourself can even dream, and thought of doing something like that to her is completely beneath me. Believe it or not, Julio, I actually warned her of the consequences and asked her if she was sure she wanted to do this. She didn't think of anything less other than having that power and she didn't regret it. She loved the dark side of power; she became the queen of it. And the reason why she wanted this was because she was sick and tired of you and your pathetic friends seeing her as a child who always needs your attention."

Helia took breathes to calm his racing heart, his anger soon forgotten as he repeated the words Alaric just told him and was dumbstruck by it. He gazed at Flora, seeing her beautiful that belonged to his rose and unable to believe the words he had just been told. "No."

Alaric almost felt sorry for him. Almost, but then he got over it and decided Julio needed to the face the cold, dark side of reality. "I'm not sure if you noticed, but you were her favorite boy to play with. She played with us both, but thing was I actually was aware of it while you were stuck on a ridiculous fantasy she needed your rescue."

Helia felt a huge blow in his stomach, recalling the indescribable and unbearable pain he once experienced in the past now re-surfacing inside of him and was once again too much for his heart too even bear. It had to be lies, Rosalina had a good heart and she would never agree to things like that.

By the time he looked up, Alaric was long gone, Flora was still asleep, and he felt so cold and alone to suffer in his pain.


	17. Chapter 17

_March 13, 1138_

_Her mind felt like it was in a daze riding a roller coaster of emotions she could barely hold onto to, her body felt like it was both aching in pain but also strangely calm and relaxed. She knew she had to wake up, but she was having trouble opening her eyes, which felt so heavy like she hasn't slept in months and her mind was begging for the extra rest. _

"Rosalina of Linpea," said a voice speaking her, sounding light and innocent like a young child and deep and velvet-like as an adult. She wasn't able to tell whether the voice was male or female, though after listening to it a bit longer she thought it sounded feminine almost, but did knew where the voice was coming from.

In front was a raven bird hundred, probably thousands times its' regular size, looming over her like a great and probably god, looking beautiful but terrifying at the same time with its' body blazing in midnight flames and her eyes big and the brilliant shade of crimson blood, which were boring into her. The spirit of the Great Midnight Raven.

"For more than hundreds of years, magical creatures on the sides of good and evil have come forward to try to have possession of my power. Unfortunately, those of the past who have tried have vanished. You child have the great privilege of being my new hostess, for in me, I see great potential that others who have tried to control my power have never had before. I sense greatness in you that has yet to be discovered. If you allow my spirit to combine with your mind and soul, then you and I shall become one. The girl who you are now will disappear forever, and many doors will be opened to you and a life granted with great legacy and power will await you like you ever imagined. The choice was up is to you."

Choose between having the most powerful magic in the whole universe and losing herself forever or not? The decision seemed easy to any person who immediately would have jumped at the chance for higher power, but Rosalina took her time to think very hard and long about this.

If she did take the power than that would mean she would no longer be herself and the person she would be would be someone who was the exact opposite of whom she was. But lately Rosalina has been wondering who she was now. Was she someone who fate decided to have fun with by taking away her family and leaving her alone here? Someone who people saw as a beauty with a kind heart and warm spirit, too fragile to even defend herself against people wanting to challenge her and be in constant need of her friends' protection? She was tired of being seen as that girl and people never thinking she could be more, knowing her friends mean well but tired of them acting like they were 24-hour bodyguards, and hated being the one with breakable powers while the rest of her friends were gifted with amazing Winx. With this power she could be stronger, more powerful than she could have ever imagined, and make people regret the day they saw her as a helpless little girl.

Without any hesitation or a second thought, Rosalina took a step forward toward the raven, who leaned down close to her. She placed a hesitated hand against on top of its' head, surprised that flames weren't burning her and the strange cool and hot sensation she touched, slowly stroking its' soft, velvet feathers. Judging by the way the raven closed its' eyes, it seemed like the gesture was pleasant and enjoyable. She pulled her hand away from the raven's head, took one step back, and slowly closed her eyes as she lifted her chin in acceptance.

She could feel the raven slowly snaking around her body, clutching onto her like a second skin, and bite her lip hard as she felt a someone flowing inside her of her-moving like hard crashing repeatedly over her till she was drowning deep in its; depths and unable to breath. Till she felt the raven wrapping itself around her like a safety blanket, becoming one with her.

_The first thing she saw was she was placed in a light blue colored room that was pretty much bare expect for the a small corner standing by the left corner and the king-size bed she was resting on, where she was tucked in with a matching light blanket. She felt her bare body brushing against the blanket and realized with a mortifying shock she was dressed in nothing. _

_She was naked. _

_Blushing and wrapping the blanket around her body, Rosalina slowly got off her bed and walked over to the doubled-sided windows, opening them to let a good breeze in and seeing the sky was black as midnight with no moon or stars shining in the sky. It was a sight she was sure would make Chelsea faint. _

_As she looked up at the satin black sky, she felt a presence entering the room and could see him smiling at her in the mirror's reflection. _

"_I see you're awake." _

_Alaric._

_Clutching the blanket tightly around her body, she slowly turned to face him, seeing his smile lost its' usual twisted chill, looking polite and pleasant. Before she could utter a word to him, he instructed there was a new set of clothes for her in the closet and to meet him downstairs when she was done, bowing low to her before he left without saying another word. _

_Rosalina wasn't sure what game he was playing, but decided the finest thing to do was find some clothes. She opened the closet doors and was shocked to find a surprisingly beautiful dress hanging on a rack in her size. It was a rich red color too light to be burgundy yet too dark to be crimson, the elegant skirt falling from the high empire waist and kissing the ground, the strapless bodice and hem delicately embroidered black and red lace criss-crossing each other. Underneath the dress was matching ballerina flats with the same embroidered black and red lace criss-crossing. _

_The dress fit her perfectly like a glove, and the shoes were a surprising good fit. She tried not to think about how Alaric knew her exact dress and shoe sizes, focusing on combing her hair with her hair with the brush she found lying on the a nightshade and tying some of her hair in two buns with the red pins she found, leaving the rest of her hair flowing down her back. _

_She found Alaric sitting in a black and white, richly decorated room that was fine for a king in the Renaissance time, dressed in another one of his expensive suits that was black and contrasting with his pale blond hair and pale skin, sitting on that couch that had its' back turned her turn. _

_As he poured himself a glass of wine, he heard her footsteps coming down and slowly turned to her. _

"_So," she said. "Where are all of my clothes? I distinctly remember wearing a cloak when we went to Shadow Haunt,"_

"_And I distinctly remembering you fainting into my arms after you managed the open the book and the power accepted you. Your clothes were tore and dirty, so I took the liberty of disposing them for you. Besides," he said with a sly smile. "I think you look must more beautiful in a dress than in a filthy cloak."_

"_Let's get one thing straight, shall we," she said. "The only reason I'm wearing this dress is because I refuse to walk over here naked. But then again, knowing you the sight would be satisfying."_

_If she was only knocked out and Alaric brought her here, then that would mean he undressed her before tucking her into bed. He saw her _naked_! And probably no doubt was thrilled by the sight and touching her while she was still unconscious and unable to fight back. He was such a pervert, but she wasn't going to show her anger and let him get to her. She kept her face a mask of cool expressionless, refusing to show any emotion. _

"_Is that so?" He forgotten about his drink, stood up, and walked slowly toward her and she was taking steps away from him. "Because you look very beautiful in it."_

_He kept walking closer to her and she was still backing away till her back was arched against the wall and Alaric was very close to her, standing too uncomfortably close and smiling as his eyes took their time gazing at her in the dress, taking long moment studying the swells of her breasts filling out of the bodice and her lips. Leveling his midnight black eyes with her jeweled greens, he said "All the splendor wonders in the wonder are nothing compared to the sound of your laughter. The breathtaking seem like dull decorations compare to your beauty."_

"_Please stop saying that." She was surprised by the cool, sharp edge in her voice, something she has ever heard herself sound like before. _

"_I'm only saying what is true," He smiled gently at her, slowly taking her hand and surprising herself by not pulling away, and slowly walking her outside to the high balcony featuring a fantastic view of the small city below them that was almost like Magic except it seemed mostly deserted and depressing in a darken way. _

"_So, this is where you live?" She always assumed Alaric lived in someplace depressing and dark like the city they were in, but she never would have guessed he would hide away in a two-story house. _

"_More like rental."_

_Silence filled in the moment between them, and Rosalina was grateful for it. She now wondered what she was going to do. Her friends must be worrying sick about her right now and she could already picture Julio leading the search team, which wasn't so typically since they were always concerned about her when she was longer than an hour late for something. She glanced at the beautiful diamond ring Julio used to propose to her and she hasn't removed since then, surprised and grateful Alaric didn't took away while she was still sleeping, and wondering about things. _

_What would await her if she were to go back to Alfea? Her friends were there, Julio will always be around and there for her whenever she needed him, and those were the most important people in her life. But the more she thought about, the more the idea seemed so…distasteful. What would await her would be watching her Winx powers work against in her battles, her friends always coming to her rescue and her bitter jealously growing stronger, them acting like bodyguards and she was a little girl who needed their constant protection, being what people always expected of her. She was tired of that life. _

_Alaric watched Rosalina while she was glancing down at the blasted ring and deep in her thoughts. He wished to know what she was thinking that was troubling her mind, wished to make her see that Julio was a dim-wit who didn't deserve her, longed to take her in his arms and kiss and hold until the end of time. But he knew better than to lose himself in his wide sea of foolish dreams and hopes. She said if he gotten her the power, than she would maybe change her about the dim-wit. He could feel the power flowing endlessly and uncontrollably inside her, becoming one with his beloved, and ready to burst out. And also feel something changing within, which he wasn't sure whether it should be alarming or not. _

_He reached inside his jacket's pocket, pulled out a palm size velvet box in a dark shade that matched his eyes, and handed it over to Rosalina without saying a word. She looked at the box curiosity before glancing up at Alaric, who offered her a smile and nodded his once as if to encourage her to open it. _

_She gasped as she slowly opened it, holding her breath for what felt like a slow eternity. Inside the box was the second most beautiful piece of jewelry she has ever seen before. A pendant shaped like a lone tear drop with a pine-thin silver chain, the glass looked like it was made from the finest glass crystals and brought out from the fire, and was in a red color so dark it looked nearly black. _

"_I made it myself with my own two hands," He explained, slowly taking the pendant and helping her put it on. "I cast a spell of ultimate protection and extra power inside, so you would always feel protected wherever you go and make you strong. Consider it my birthday gift to you." He leaned down to peck her cheek, but knew he would only get a slap instead if he were to try such a thing, so he settled with lightly brushing her hair. "Happy birthday, Rosalina."_

_Today was March 13 and she was now eighteen years old, officially an adult. Rosalina held onto the pendant, which felt so warm against her skin. "Alaric, tell me what is about me that's appalling to you?"_

_He didn't waste a moment of hesitation to tell her then answer "Besides your breathtaking, I see greatness that others including your friends fail to even notice with their blind eyes. There's a bright fire inside of you and a fierceness that like a tigress burning inside you, waiting to be discovered and could make doors of possibilities open for you. You are unlike any girl I ever met before and believe me when I said I met a lot of girls, and that is what makes you special to me, Rosalina. You may be fragile and innocent, but I sense so much more inside of you. So much more. I have lived a very long time and you are the only thing-person-who has ever touched my heart so deeply. I wish to spend all of eternity doing things to please you, make you laugh and smile. If you were to ever choose me, then from that moment on I would give everything and anything I have and more."_

_Anything and more? That actually wasn't starting to sound too bad to her. Alaric may be a big pain in her side, always there to make crude jokes and smirk and stalk her every move, but she couldn't shake the odd dangerousness she felt whenever his presence was near her. It was like a dangerous game she knew she shouldn't have any interest in, but was slowly becoming addicted to like a drug. And the more she thought about her and was honest for herself; she realized Alaric didn't treat her like a little girl unlike her friends do. True, he teases her and was a pain, but he treated her like an equal, someone who should take what she sees, and understand her wishes and desires. _

"_You know what I want for my birthday?" she asked, done with her thinking after making a decision about what she was going to do with her powers and gazing up at the sky, finding darkness to be…appealing._

"_What?"_

"_I want domination and I don't just mean realm domination, I'm talking about a whole universal domination. I'm going to create an army so strong and fierce; no realm will stand a chance against them. I'm no longer be that pathetic little flower and will be known from this moment on as Libitina," Her lips curled up into what should have been a smile, but was instead a dark smile of coldness Alaric knew he should be alarmed of but was turned on by. "Goddess of death and angel of darkness. People are going to regret the day they ever saw me as helpless. You will help me won't you, Alaric?"_

_A smile broke out on his face, spreading until it blossomed into a grin. "That, my dear, is a question you don't even have to bother asking."_

_A part of her was telling her this was wrong, saying she shouldn't be like this, leading him and planning to do chaos while she was good and have Julio and her friends. It was that part belonging to pathetic, helpless Rosalina, which Libitina no longer cared to act like anymore and decided to forget about everything else that use to her dear to her. _

_She didn't care if it was wrong, she didn't care about her friends or even Julio. The only thing she could think about was the power burning and churning inside of her, which felt so thrilling to her. She smiled dazzlingly at Alaric, pulling his head down to hers, and placing her lips over his in a soft kiss. Alaric was still for a moment, taking a moment to feel sparks as fierce and burning like fire passing like current between them and enjoying the feel of his lips against hers. He kissed her back, pouring all the passion and love he felt for her into that kiss, with such force and hunger, wanting nothing more than the two of them to melt into one. _

"_Rosalina," He breathed as he attacked her sweet neck hungrily, placing countless kisses all over and nibbling her ears while listening to the sound of her sweet moans which were music to his ears. _

"_That's right, Alaric," Rosalina smirked to herself, running her hands through his silkily hair, too fine to be natural. He was going to be a fine one to play with, along with Julio. _

_Alaric was too distracted by sweet taste of her skin, losing himself in the sweet scent of her perfume, he barley noticed the fact her smirk was turning more vicious and her emerald eyes changing to a vivid red color that matched the shade of blood. _


	18. Chapter 18

The day has finally come.

After all these long centuries since her death, nearly losing hope he would ever find her again and his heart weeping from the sorrowful pain he was forced to carry, the time has finally come.

Today, after nearly nine hundred years after her death and the day she swore revenge, was March 13, the eighteenth year of her reincarnate's birth. And in just a few hours, the prophecy will be fulfilled.

He has waited impatiently long and hard for this day, refusing to let anything or anyone get in the way of the path of fate.

Before the great battle separated the two, his beloved given him a small ball that was smooth like a marble and told him just to watch it crack after it has been tossed to the ground whenever he needed it for an important time. Like she was aware of her fate and knew he was going to need it for something important as this.

Alaric did as she instructed, tossing the ball to the ground and hearing it crack, then watching it explode into a thick sheet of fog that covered up the whole place and was so thick he was nearly blind.

When the fog finally cleared and he was able to see, the spot where the ball was smashed against the floor stood an army. But not just any army; it was an army of Libitina's magnificent pets, Shadow Demons. He tried once creating them himself, but his copies could never compare to the original.

Their skins was as dark as night, shimmering like silk and appearing transparent like ghost but were secretly stronger than the most indestructible steel, their eyes red as blood and bright with hunger for fighting, and vicious smiles spreading across their faces. They fought without mercy and showed no emotion other than their hunger for fighting and craving for bloodshed, which was precisely why they were perfect army and always successful in the battlefield. The army's numbers was ranging around ten dozen or so, although Alaric was more than certain the number would grow sooner or later, all fierce and strong like warriors, taking on the shape of wolfs, beings in male or female version with bat wings sprouting from backs and fangs sharp as knives, and beautiful yet frightening ravens hovering in the air.

With an army like this, Alaric was sure he couldn't lose but decided it couldn't hurt adding a few more troops to his army. Joining would be the left over creatures crawling around Shadow Haunt after Lord Darkar's destruction, which Alaric spelled to be more powerful and stronger. And the witches after allowing them out from their rooms, adding more strength to their powers and charming them once again with his compelling to be obedient little witches after barely making it through an hour hearing their complaints.

Everything was all set. He spent the last few days visiting the old castle and making sure everything was set. The room where the spell was going to be cast was straightened, the altar set, along with the spell book.

Now all he needed was the girl.

Alaric viewed what was going on with the other realms and the city of Magix through the crystal, seeing rulers smiling as they seated on their thrones, people walking through the streets or doing activities with smiles on their faces. Children screaming or laughing as they played, birds soaring through the sky and chirping happily, couples walking hand-in-hand and acting like a newly-weds, the perfect weather-cast happening at different places, and the vibe perfectly normal.

It was such a shame, though; all of if would soon be nothing left but a destroyed wasteland. At lease for them anyway.

"What a beautiful day to celebrate the end for these realms." Alaric turned away from the globe to face his army filling into the throne room, a darkly victorious smile spreading across his face like he already as if he had already won the battle and taken claim to his prize.

The creatures smiled the same way at his remark, their eyes brightly gleaming in excitement at the thought of destroying and killing. Dark, chilling laughter erupting from the witches.

"Move out troops and be ready," he ordered, viciousness and triumph glinting in his eyes. "The hour is near. The destiny will be fulfilled and the fallen queen will rise once again."

This week has been one of the best days Flora has ever experienced. With each passing day, she was having more fun than the last. Going shopping with the girls and ignoring the boys groaning as they carried most of their bags; going to the beach to swim or surf, parasail or hang-glide, or play or ride on the dolphins Musa would call with her singing; pose for pictures by the amazing sights that were real tourists' attractions. Hitting all the cool clubs and having a blast dancing the night away partying till dawn, feeling so tired and grouchy the next morning.

They even rented some beautiful horses and went riding as they traveled all around the resort. Stella even created sets of clothes for the occasion that were cute and had the old western flair, completed with cowboy and cowgirls boots and hats.

As much fun vacationing with her friends, it truly wouldn't be reality if there wasn't a problem attached to it. And that problem would be Helia.

Flora wasn't sure what or why, but there was a thing slowly wedging between them. There was a slight yet thick tension slicing in their relationship. Helia was now being withdrawal and distant, still holding her hands and talking to her now and then, but there was a emotion she couldn't read everytime she felt his eyes boring into but would then looked away when she turned his way, would be in his cloud of thoughts with another unreadable look on his face, and wouldn't look her directly in the eye when he did look at her. They did talk but there was always a sense of awkwardness lingering in the air, and wouldn't go on dates unless they were doing double or group dates.

"What did I do?" She asked him the night before as they were getting ready for bed after returning from another night of late-night clubbing. She wanted all this to stop, wished their relationship to go back to the way they used to be.

Helia didn't say anything or even looked at her, muting out her voice as he was lost in another one of his thought bubbles while he was brushing his teeth. He joined her in bed and rested his head on his propped-up pillow, staring up at the ceiling for awhile before his eyes slowly darted over to Flora.

She turned her back to him and curled her up into a ball, holding herself tightly. As far as she could see, her eyes were closed and not a sound was coming out from her, but as Helia inched closer to her he could pick up the sound of sniffling. She was crying. Because of him.

Helia has never felt more ashamed of himself till now. He had no intention to make her cry. He wished he could say something to make her feel better. Wished he could take her into his arms and tell her everything was going to be okay. Most of all, wished he could forget about Alaric's words, which felt like a powerful blow to the stomach and chest every time those damn words echoed in his head.

"You were her favorite boy to play with. She played with us both, but the thing was I was actually aware of it while you were stuck on some ridiculous fantasy she needed you r rescue."

He knew better than to believe a single word Alaric says, but…there was a part of him who couldn't let it go. The part that was Julio who hated Rosalina for what she done, still suffering deeply from the betrayal, and hating himself because he couldn't get rid of how he felt for her.

He tried to reason with his inner thoughts, repeating to himself and Rosalina weren't anything alike. But his mind betrayed him by telling him they were very alike in more than some ways.

Helia couldn't get the shake away the thoughts doubt was feeding into his mind. Rosalina taking Alaric's hands, turning back to her old friends and giving them the most evil smile they ever seen on someone's face before, walking away with him and disappearing into the shadows. Rosalina smirking while he was hiding from sight, knowing he was there and decided to give him a show by pulling Alaric's head down to hers and crashing their lips into a hot, passionate kiss, knowing his poor heart was painfully breaking into pieces by the sight. Flora entangled in Alaric's arms, moaning blissfully into his mouth as they kissed.

_No, Flora didn't purposely kiss him just to hurt me_, Helia thought, trying to shut out doubt. _He kissed her while she was trying to fight Rosalina. She was in love with me before she met Alaric._

_So was Rosalina, but apparently things happen to change, don't they? _Doubt said. _Just because she hasn't shown that side yet now doesn't mean she won't show it later. Rosalina played with the both of you like a violin._

"Are you angry at me?" His thoughts were broken up when he heard Flora's timid voice calling to him.

"I…," He wasn't sure what to say. Was he angry? Yes, but he was more than just angry. He was furious. At Alaric for his damn words, doubt for reminding him of his words and putting un-needed thoughts in his head. But was he furious at Flora? That was a question hard to answer.

Helia knew Flora was much too strong and kind to be capable of doing as low as that, but that part that was Julio reminded him Rosalina seemed the same way-till he was soon proven otherwise. He couldn't blame her for acts of the past when, even though she possessed a few memories, doesn't have her full memory yet.

"Do you hate me?" She asked so quietly she thought he couldn't hear him.

"I could never hate you, Flora." That was at lease one question he could answer he could easily answer without hesitation. He loved her far too much to ever feel anything less toward her, much less hatred.

Helia sighed, letting out an exhausted breath he hasn't realized he was holding for that long. He slowly leaned toward her, took her hand in one hand while he used the other to slowly stroke her hair, and kissed her on the forehead goodnight.

"Good night." He whispered, his expression softening when he caught her eye.

"Sweet dreams." She whispered.

"_Tik-tok, tik-tok, tik-tok," said that voice, the same unrecognizable voice she first heard when she met Libitina face-to-face in her dreams. That sounded light and innocent, as if it was being said by a young child, but sounded so chilling and eerie as those words were being repeated. "You cannot hide from what you are meant to do."_

_Flora was caught in the middle of a fog, stranded in the middle of black nothingness. She could feel she wasn't alone, she could sense the presence of someone else quickly moving through the shadows. And could tell who he was. She could feel his eyes boring into her back and smiled to herself out of smugness, could feel his chest pressed against her back, his arm wrapped around her waist and holding her close while his other hand was slowly turning her head toward him and stroking her lips tenderly. _

_As their lips met, she could feel his lips were soft and gentle, though that wasn't enough to tame the danger she could sense around him. She opened her eyes quickly to take a look at him, seeing his dark eyes were boring into her. Midnight black. Alaric. She supposed she should have run away while she still had a chance, but she was too busy being addicted to his danger and kisses, loving the time she gets to play with him. He kissed her innumerable times, placing sometimes hot or soft kisses on her lips, never wanting the moment to end. The times when she opened her eyes, she saw his midnight blacks were opened and boring into her, questioning her on something she couldn't understand or answer. _

_Then Alaric was gone, and the fog was cleared. She found herself twirling into the arms of Helia, another place she loved being. He dipped her low and kissed her fiercely, as if he was angry with her, and each time he would pull away for a second, she would whimper out loud from the parching thirst running through her and would soon moan as their lips would be reconnected. He stopped kissing her and looked down at her, still holding her in his arms and dipping her low, but there was something very wrong with his eyes she couldn't quite explain. _

_Helia was then gone and she was left all alone. She hold herself when an arctic gush was blowing from above, and slowly looked down the ground, her eyes widening at the sight. _

_The sinister S engraved on the ground, the largest size she has ever seen it before, its' vivid red color contrasting with the darkness of the room, and was on fire with flames burning wildly. By the time she looked up, she saw the sky were blooded red, black and fire flames were burning everything up right in front of her, and a beautiful yet frightening raven gigantic in size was looming over her, its' blooded eyes too chilling to even look at without her body shaking. _

"_It is time Flora."_

Flora felt a jolt kicking into her as she woke up; trying to calm her beating heart and remind herself it was only a dream. But as she looked straight ahead, her eyes widened in both shock and fear, her beating heart going into overdrive, and her mouth dropping wide to the ground.

Alaric was standing right in front of her, the darkness of the night seeming to do natural wonders to his pale skin, looking like a beautiful angel but was really a cold-hearted devil, smiling darkly at her reaction and his eyes laughing. But he wasn't alone and Flora saw someone was also invited to the party.

Libitina, dressed in her red sleeveless top and black petal-themed tutu with raven wings sprouting from her back, smiled at Flora with much more coldness and wickedness Alaric had on his good days, her crimson eyes bone-chilling and frightening but also smiling.

"The hour is near. The prophecy will be fulfilled, and the dark queen will rise once again." Alaric said.

"You know my dear, nothing will get in the way." Libitina smiled so sickly and yet managed to make it look sweet at the same time.

Flora was tossing and turning in her bed, her eyes tightly shut and trying to make her hallucination go away. Yet she couldn't get rid of the strange fear growing in the pit of her stomach. But there it was blazing hot, making her whole body feel like something was biting on it and it was on fire, so blisteringly hot-till she couldn't stand it anymore and woke up, really woke up.

She'd woken up soaked with sweat-her hair, her pillow, her pajamas all wet and suddenly making her so cold. She wished she could wake up Helia, but he looked so peaceful in his sleep, she couldn't disturb him. She's lain there shivering and alone.

The red marks were scarred on her skin, more blisteringly hot than ever, burning her every time she moved her body. She stared at those marks in horror, knowing what day it was (or at least what date It will be soon on the stroke of midnight).

It was her birthday.

The day of the prophecy.

And the end of everything as she knew it to be.

"No." she whispered to herself, tears streaming down her cheeks like heavy rain drops.

**AN: Know it's short, but consider this part one of the huge birthday/propchey excitement(or horror). With school coming up soon, I won't be able to do a lot of writing, but I'll try to update as soon as I can. **

**Ciao for now. **


	19. Chapter 19

The strangest sensation came to the remaining Winx girls as they spelt, like someone was stirring inside of them and trying to get inside their heads, the heat intensifying in their bodies and making their bodies feel so blistering, blazing hot like they were being swallowed by flames. They were so hot, sweat was drenching them, their night pajamas, their blankets and pillows wet.

They were tossing and turning in their beds, trying to open their eyes, which seemed like the only opinion they have to escape the blistering heat and powerful sensation. Their eyes felt so heavy and refused to cooperate, sticking down like they were glued shut.

It was someone(s) refused for them to be awakened just yet.

"_Reach across space, barrel through time; it is my relatives I ask you to find."_

_Bloom moaned, slowly getting up on the floor. Her body no longer felt like it was on fire, thank goddess, but all the sweat her body produced made her baby blue tee and pajama pants clung awkwardly onto her body and her hair slicked to her neck and cheeks. She looked around her, seeing she, Stella, Musa, Tecna, and Layla who were also slowly getting onto their feet while recovering from the strange hot sensation were placed in the strangest place-there was barely nothing there, no walls, or ceilings. The place seemed limitless with space, dark as midnight and was so hard to see anything around them, and also the coldest place blowing quiet arctic gushes like they were trapped inside a solid ice block. It made things ten times worse they were dressed in wet clothes. _

"_What is this place?" Layla said, her eyes darting around the cold darkness while her arms were tightly wrapped around her body in a desperate attempt to keep her warm. _

"_I have no clue." Bloom answered, wishing she brought a jacket with her. _

"_Where are the boys?" Stella asked, unable to find her sweetheart anywhere around here. _

"_Don't know, but more importantly where's Flora?" Musa was unable to get a sight of their flower friend. _

"_Flora!"_

"_Flo, you here?"_

"_Where are you?"_

"_Can you hear us?"_

"_Is anybody else here?"_

"_We must be in some sort of dream," Tecna said, shivering from the coldness and cursing herself loudly in her head for wearing a light purple t-shirt and green shorts in such a cold-temperate room, which was so unbelievably cold and getting colder by the second. "It has to be so. The temperature in this room is not natural for any realm. And the fact we're here in our pajamas, freezing to the bone pretty much proves my point."_

"_Stella, you think you can warm us up with some sunshine?" Musa suggested. _

"_Great idea." They huddled together and hold onto one another tightly to spread some body heat while Stella waved her hand over their huddled heads and a big orb of golden-yellow covered them from head to toe, quickly warming them up and shielding them from the cold. _

"_If this is dream, Tec, then we shouldn't even be feeling this way." Bloom told her technology-friendly friend who was starting to see her point. "I'm not exactly sure or don't know why, but something telling me this is way more than just some dream. Did you guys hear that voice?"_

"_What voice?"Layla asked. _

"_A voice….a voice saying that same spell Palladium taught us in class. The same one Stella did that helped her contact Chelsea."_

"_You know what?" Stella said. "The more I think about it, the more I realize this place is almost like the place where I met Chelsea. But I don't see anyone else here except us."_

"_Musa." _

_Musa whipped her head to the direction the where her name was being called, squinting her eyes. That voice sounded so familiar, and it was both odd and scary to her how it sounded…almost like her. _

"_Musa."_

_She was so concentrated on finding where the person was coming from, she didn't notice the fact the conversation between her friends soon stopped when they noticed her attention was aimed somewhere. So busy trying to hear the person call her name again, she almost failed to hear Layla calling her name and putting her hand on her shoulder, snapping her out of her reverie. _

"_What?" Musa said, turning back to them. _

"_What's up?" Layla said. _

"_I think…I heard someone calling me."_

"_Really?" Stella arched an eyebrow and tried listening for any sort of sound for a moment, and then finally shrugged, giving up. "I can't hear anything."_

"_I can't hear anything either. Then again when you have sonic-advance ears like Musa," Tecna gestured her hand toward her. "You can hear the whispers of the wind."_

_Musa cracked a small smile at her joke, but then quickly composed herself to be at alert for the voice. "I heard someone calling my name, and the weird thing is she sounded almost exactly like me. Like I was hearing myself call my name."_

_If Musa was hearing things, then Bloom was starting to sense things. She wasn't sure what was triggering inside of her, but something-some kind of energy was nearby them and growing weaker by the second. She asked Stella to put down the sun orb shield, which the Solarian princess arched a questioning eyebrow at her request but still obliged to, and the girls stared at one another and slowly followed Bloom who was wander aimlessly South. While the girls were sticking close together with Bloom leading front, Tecna and Stella standing close by, and she and Layla were at the rear end, Musa couldn't shake the feeling of the voice identical to her own growing slowly louder as it was calling to her. _

"_Musa."_

"_She's calling to me," It was safe to assume the voice belonged to a girl, but something about seemed so familiar to her yet she couldn't place it. _

"_And I think I'm getting closer to something." Bloom said. _

_Suddenly Bloom stopped walking; spreading out her arms when she felt the energy was here around them, making the girls walk right into each other and collided. It was a good thing she was able to dug the soles of her heels against the ground firmly and keep her ground, otherwise she was be on the ground with her friends on top of her. _

"_Why did you stop, Bloom?" Stella asked. _

"_The thing I've been sensing, I can feel it more clearly now," she answered. "It's around here."_

_Tecna wished she had her PDA with her, so the search would be done much more quicker if she did an energy search, but unfortunately whoever or whatever dragged her and her friends into this strangeness and decided technology wasn't going to be allowed here. So, she was going to have to resolve to using her eyes to see around. Something suddenly made her stop in her tracks as she squinted her eyes to see more clearly and saw more than several figures hanging by shackles. The cloaks they were wearing blended in with the darkness, so it was hard to tell whether they were girls or guys and the fact hoods were pulled over their bent down heads made it even harder._

"_Look!" she pointed toward them, and she and girls ran forward but walked slowly with caution as they reached closer. _

"_Who are you?" Bloom demanded, unsure if they were going to attack them, glad for the firmness in her voice. _

"_Calm your horses, sugar. We mean you no harm." Said a voice that sounded so much like Stella, but had a fainted Southern drawl to it. _

"_Chelsea?" Stella raised her open hand over head and lit up a small sunlight\that was enough to shed some light in the thick darkness. _

_The figures were dressed in black cloaks looking so worn and old with their faces particularly covered with the hoods, so it was find to identity one out of them all. Stella walked over to the one nearest to her left, slowly lifted her hood, and was soon looking into the face of Princess Chelsea of Solaria, which was like looking into her own reflection since they look so much alike. _

_Chelsea looked beautiful, but even more tired than Stella saw her the first and last time. Then she looked like she had some magic and energy left to keep moving forward, but now she looked chilled to the bone and tired to even move her body. Her complexion looked paler than the last time, her body felt so cold as Stella slowly undid the shackles and settled her onto the ground, and the heavy bags under her eyes show how tired she must be. _

"_OMG!" Bloom said, her eyes darting back and forth between the fairy of the moon and the current sun and moon fairy, unable to believe how much they really do look alike. _

_Musa slowly walked forward to the girl in front of her, who slowly cracked a small smile. Musa decided she couldn't be that harmless and slowly pulled down her hood, gasping when she was looking into her own face, the face of the beautiful Princess Melody of the Harmonic Nebula. The princess looked so much like her right down to her midnight blue eyes and hair, which was medium-length while Musa's was long; Musa almost thought she was looking at her own reflection. _

"_I don't…" she was unable to finish her sentence, too shocked to even say another word. _

"_I know," Melody smiled, grateful her future descendant was freeing her from the shackles and was helping her get on her feet. "It's amazing, isn't it?"_

_Amazing would pretty much describe how Layla and Tecna felt as they were looking into the faces of Princess Lauren and Titania, unable to believe how much they really looked alike. When it was time for Bloom to meet Princess Luna, the fire fairy's eyes were closed shut, her body felt so weak and limp, and she was the palest out of all her friends. Bloom had to quickly reach out her hands to catch her before she fell to the ground. _

_She laid Luna's limp head on her lap, brushing her fiery red hair away from her eyes and unable to believe how much they also looked so much alike, but was alerted by the fact Luna wasn't even moving or didn't look like she was breathing. _

"_Luna, Luna! Can you hear me?" Bloom tried to shake her awake, but the princess wouldn't be awakened. She looked up at her friends and their look-alikes, telling them "I don't know what to do. It's like she's in some kind of suspended state."_

"_Not a suspended state, she's trying to regain all her strength. Being trapped inside the heart of the raven for over eight hundred years has extremely drained our powers and made us weak, but it has mostly taken a toll on her. She suggested we all combined the last drops of our powers to do one last spell. I only wish she were awake to see that it was a success." Titania kneeled low before her, with some help from Tecna, and slowly brushed her friend's hair. _

"_I feel so horrible for her," Lauren sighed sadly. "These centuries has really taken a lot out of her. In the beginning she would be awake like the rest of us, but quickly over the years she has been weakened. She only wakes only for a few seconds every once and awhile every eight months, then falls right back into unconsciousness." _

"_The spell you guys were talking about?" Musa said. "What was it?"_

"_Why, it was the spell of contacting past and future relatives." Melody said. _

"_And the reason we use the spell was to bring all of you here to warn you." Chelsea added. _

"_Warn us?" Stella repeated, confused. "Warn us of what?"_

_There was a fainted groaning sound coming from Luna's lips, which she licked before shifting her body to the right side, slowly curling it up into a ball and trying to bring warmth to her body. She slowly opened her eyes, which were the same bright cyan shade as Bloom's, smiled softly and quickly at the reaction of her future descendant, and said in a dry-sounding, husky voice "Warn you that the day has finally come." _

_The day? The girls stared at one another confused for a moment before the answer finally came to them. _

_Today was March 13; Flora's eighteenth birthday and the day the dark prophecy was suppose to be fulfilled. _

"_Chelsea, listen," Tecna said to Stella's twin. "I know you told Stella before that there was nothing we could do to stop it from happening, and according to Libitina the only solution we have is to kill Flora. But she's our best friend and we can't do that to her. There has to be some other way to stop the destiny from happening."_

_Chelsea unfortunately shook her head while Titania answered "The only thing that can stop the dark angel from returning to this world is your friend not doing the spell. But as much as that seems so simple, it isn't. If you girls knew anything about Alaric, nothing will stop him from making sure his dark queen comes back and he will make sure your friend does her part."_

"_Libitina can't come back if Flora doesn't do the spell, and Alaric can't force her to do anything if he can't find her in the first place," Bloom said, determined. "All we have to do is to take Flora somewhere far and Alaric doesn't expect to find her."_

_Luna smiled just a tiny bit, but then the smile quickly vanished as she started to cough, making nasty and wheezing sounds. When she finally calmed herself, she said "If only it were that simple."_

"_The unfortunate thing is Libitina and Alaric share a special bond with each other. It's a connection you feel with family or friends, but is strong. It is the bond that helps him find her. If you girls knew Alaric as well as we does, then you should know what he is capable of. If he wants to find her, then he will-no matter where she is."Lauren said. _

"_We're not giving up then," Bloom told her. "There has to be a way. We will find that way."_

_Chelsea gave them all a small smile that was sad to look at but gentle with sympathy. "I'm afraid, sugar, there isn't, but we have to tell you how brave we think you girls are because of what you're doing."_

"_Good to know we passed on some courageous traits down to our generations." Melody joked, able to put small faces on all their faces. _

"_We will tell you girls this," Luna said "Alaric plans to find Flora and has a huge army to back him up. I might be weak of power, but that still doesn't stop me from having visions. I see a great battle happening at your friend's home realm, near the sacred city of Trees, and Alaric's army is full of reckless Shadow demons, creatures from Shadow Haunt, and three witches who are the last descendants of the original sinister witches."_

"_Their army may be strong, but I am confident yours will be even stronger," Chelsea said "I know my sister better than anyone and trust her, so I know she already a army of her working up into speed."_

"_What else do you see in your visions, Luna?" Layla asked. _

_Luna closed her eyes, trying to use what was left of her powers to be in contact with the Dragon Fire and see what the dragon's eyes had shown her. "You all with your boy friends, along with Flora's mother and sister, soldiers from Linpea and a army of heroes and fairies and witches working together to bring Alaric and his army down. It will be hard to take down the Shadow demons, but you still fought bravely. Horror things will be coming your way today, so try to make this a day Flora will never forget."_

"_Be brave and careful, all of you," Melody urged. "And before you go, we want you to know we're already extremely proud of you."_

_And just like that, without making a sound or using any hand gestures, Luna, Chelsea, Melody, Titania, and Lauren were gone from sight. _

And just like that, the girls were awaked from their dreams with a jolt kicking in their bodies, feeling dazed and confused as they slowly got up. Their boyfriends were lying beside them, nuzzling close but didn't seem to know what had just happened to them.

"_Rosalina, you can't be serious!"_

"_Sugar, now let's just think about this for a moment."_

"_This doesn't make any sense at all. You know this is wrong and you know this isn't you."_

"_How could you do this?"_

_Julio wouldn't even look her in the eye without showing the bitterness and sadness in his eyes, which were the feelings of betrayal. Something she only shrugged off and pretended it didn't bother her. _

_None of their reactions made Libitna surprised since they were exactly as she would predict them to be. _

_A week ago if someone told her what was going to happen to her on birthday, she would have thought that person was crazy and ran away from them out of fear. Now she could only smile at how wonderful things were turning out to be. In the past twelve hours after she officially turned eighteen and was given the power of the Midnight Raven, her powers were growing continually stronger each minute. With her new powers, she was able to create a powerful army from the shadows of the realm, then sent that army out to attack three realms, including the city of Magix, ordering them to destroy everything in sight and bring in people who might interest her. Two hours later, there was nothing left in that realm except for the wild chaos going on. The Magix council conducting a meeting and sending out an emergency call of alert to the rest of the realms, thousands of prisoners were already being brought into her castle, her army were getting stronger and growing by a million, and more and more realms were being destroyed. This was going even better than she hoped it to be. _

_Her Shadow demons destroyed everything in sight at Magix, including the three schools. Red Fountain School for heroics and bravery, Cloud tower school for witches, and Alfea School for fairies were burnt to the ground and students were fleeing from the school grounds, running to the nearest safety shelters or back to their realms. Her pet raven, which coincidently was named Raven, told her in a hush, hush tone, she spotted Luna and the rest of her friends fleeing to Luna's home planet, Sparks, hiding in her castle for shelter. _

_Which was where she exactly found them resting in Luna's room to get some strength, which had decorations showed Luna's taste and was as huge as the dining hall where they eaten their meals at Alfea, dressing up their wounds and trying to look on the positive side of things. It wasn't so hard getting into the heavily-guarded castle with the new ability her powers had, which was blending into the shadows and crawling through like a sleek snake without the guards batting an eye at her. _

_Her friends tried to look on the bright side of things with brave faces, but she knew them better and saw traces of bitterness depression in their expressions. It wasn't till she entered the room and loudly shut the door behind her that they all turned their heads around. _

_At first they looked relief to see she was okay, but that relief soon burned into absolute shock as they really got a look at her. She couldn't explain the odd satisfaction she was feelings as their eyes widened in shock while she retuned their stunned looks with an arched eyebrow and cold smile on her face. The satisfaction once they caught sight of her vivid red eyes and gasped, gasping again while she told them everything that has happened to her as she went to Shadow Haunt and on her birthday, and seeing her dress in a brand-new outfit silly, naïve Rosalina wouldn't be caught dead in. _

_She was dressed in all black: a shimmering black leather cat suit with silver metallic breast plate and black leather chunky stiletto-heeled ankle boots. She snapped her fingers and in an instant of red and black smoke, her raven-crescent specter appeared in her opened hand. A small black/red beaded tiara that has the sinister 'S' and raven crescent as the centerpiece for the tiara, which was another marvelous masterpiece by Alaric and another birthday present from him. _

"_Rose, please." Julio pleaded his words saddened and desperate. "You don't know what you're doing."_

"_Oh, I think she knows exactly what she's doing, dim-wit." Alaric appeared in the room through a thick display of smoke, taking his place near Libitina with his infamous smirk on his face. _

"_Alaric!" Julio snarled through his gritted teeth while the others were too flabbergasted to speak through their shock. Anger and strong hatred blazed madly in his eyes like fire, his hands clenched into tight fists and knuckles white as a sheet. "I should have known you were behind this. What have you done to Rose, you malicious devil-demon!"_

"_He must have spelled her!" Skyler suggested. Chelsea gasped, covering her agape mouth with her hands, looking like she was close to crying. Skyler wrapped one arm around her to bring her comfort while frowning at the demon standing in front of them. _

"_Alaric didn't do anything to me," Libitina answered with another sickly sweet smile. "Except maybe shown me what I have been missing all these years and giving me exactly what I wanted. Don't you insects get it at all? No one or anything forced me to this. I chose it, out of my own freewill. I'm doing this because I simply chose to. Thanks to Alaric, the power of the Midnight Raven, the most powerful energy source in the entire universe and is even more invincible than the petty Dragon Fire, and I plan to do a lot of damage with my new powers. To create the entire universe in my own twisted image."_

"_Rosalina please! This is madness you are speaking!" Lauren said, unable to believe what has happened to her friend and what she was saying. _

"_Your words spit nothing but venomous nonsense and you know it!" Simba pointed an accusing finger at her. _

"_Please think this through, Rosalina," Melody stared at her in disbelief, needing the support from River and Titania to keep from fainting to the ground. "You don't know what you're doing."_

_Rosalina answered to all those comments with a puppy-dog pout, which soon turned back to a malicious, sweet and twisted smile. "What's the matter? Don't you girls and guys like the new me?"_

"_No," River said, speaking for all of them. "Frankly we don't."_

_Libitina shrugged, sending another smirk his way. "Tough because this new witch is here to stay and is packed with so much more power than all the magic in every magical being put together. I've got plans for the other realms, big plans. I only come here to give you all a warning to stay out of my way while I go on destroying the other realms, causing mayhem and misery, and have people bowing to my feet. Believe or not, I actually still care for you, so I want to keep you safe from the dangers that will soon be coming. You all are still people I care about and I do not wish for you to suffer my causing misery. However, if you decided to cross paths with me and get in my way, then I'll crush you like insects."_

"_Rose-" Julio started to say, but Rosalina's harsh voice quickly silenced them all. Her sweet and timid voice that was bathed with warmth had been erased of its' honey sweetness, now cold and deadly. _

"_I have spoken. You all have been warned."_

_They all watched her crimson eyes glowed brightly, blazing madly like they were looking into the eyes of fire. _

"_Rosalina, as your friend please listen to me. Don't do this. This isn't-!" Luna's consoling words soon were forgotten as she and her friends screamed at the top of their lungs as black flames shot high from near their feet and touched the tall ceiling, spreading wider to spread across the room, closing the distance between them and Alaric and Rosalina. _

_Their screams increased more as fire burst by both sides and sparked intensely behind them, trapping them in their fiery-like cage. Spells they cast weren't able to put out the fire, Luna couldn't absorb the fire's energy, and Lauren tried failed attempts to put it out with her water-bending. The amazing thing about the fire was it wasn't burning anything up, it wasn't spreading or making them choke from their fumes. It was only keeping them captive while Libitina and Alaric were about to make their exit. _

"_Consider this your first and final warning. Stay out of my way or get burned," Libitina gave them one last cold smile and waved goodbye, then slipped her hand through Alaric's. _

_Alaric smirked at them and reversed an extra venomous, triumph look for Julio, like he had won the grand prize they were both competing for. He wrapped his arms around her slim waist and slowly pulled Libitina close to him, his smirk soon changing into a soft smile as he looked down at Libitina. A smirk was plastered on her face as she ran her hand through his hair and nuzzled her head against his chest. _

"_Rose," Julio was able to see glimpses through the thick curtain of the black fire, wishing he was blind so he wouldn't have to look at yet and also hating himself for not being able to pull his eyes away from the two of them. So, this was what betrayal felt like? Like you were both infuriating angry and deeply sorrowed and depressed at the world and all those who live in it, the thing so wonderful and radiant in your world being painfully taken away from you and leaving your world in darkness, your soul feeling so hollow the need of going on didn't even seem possible and your heart going through the twisted mangle innumerable times. He felt like punching something so hard till his hands were bleeding out, shout curses at the sky till his last breath, letting out all the pain and sadness inside of him and letting his tears form into a huge ocean of sadness. Mostly he felt like dying. "Please."_

_His words were so quiet, he wondered if he even said them at all. Yet somehow Libitina was able to hear his plea and slowly pulled away from Alaric's chest, her cruel smirk disappearing from her face as she locked eyes with Julio. The two wordlessly stared into one another's eyes for what felt like a long eternity, but didn't seem long enough for neither of them. While staring through the sea of blooded crimson, Julio could have sworn, in one moment, he could see his Rose inside. _

_But as quickly as he saw that, it also quickly vanished in an instant. Libitina soon was smirking again, her eyes narrowed but glinting brightly as a crude idea came to her mind. She turned her head back to Alaric, smirking as she looped her arms around his neck, and did something everyone stare at in disbelief while Julio wished he was really dead so he couldn't see it at all. _

_She kissed him. The devil-demon Rosalina used to despise as much as he did she was now locking lips with him in a passionate, slow and deep kiss with her leaning more into him. Alaric was frozen for a moment, surprised by the sudden kiss, and then quickly gotten over it. He enveloped her tightly in his arms, bringing her even closer to him, and deepened their kiss. _

_The shadows beneath them rose from the ground and slowly wrapped around their bodies. Before they disappeared together, Libitina opened her eyes quickly, still engaging in the kiss, and saw Julio was watching them despite himself. _

_It was like she could see his insides, seeing all the pain and hurt she was causing him and what torment his poor heart was going through. And she smiled maliciously, enjoying the fact she knew what she was doing to him. _

_Their shadows entangled around them and soon they were gone. Leaving the fairies and heroes shocked by the betrayal to even speak and a heart-broken man trying to mend his pain and put back to the broken pieces of his shattered heart. _

That was the eighteenth vision she has seen this morning she has seen since she went out to the balcony and stayed all late night till early morning. Some flashbacks were long and very detailed like the one she had just recalled right now, most were flashes of images with a story behind them she was able to remember regardless.

When she woke up after her horrific dream, she wasn't sure what to do at first. She thought about waking up Helia, but couldn't after seeing how peaceful he looked in his sleep. She couldn't take her eyes off her marks, the marks standing for sinister and evil, feeling them pulsing along with her every heartbeat. They burned like fire on her skin and it pained her to even move an inch. She spent an hour or so silently crying her eyes out, not caring if she looked petty and ridiculous, till her last tear and finally decided to get out from bed and got out to the balcony.

It was a perfect place to gather her thoughts, so peaceful and quiet. Her eyes watched the sky above gradually go from late night to early morning, seeing the darkened colors slowly change to shades of orangish-pink. Before she went out, she ran to the bathroom to grab a floor-length bathrobe she wrapped tightly around her body, in a desperate attempt to cover the marks from sight, and pulled the hood attached to the robe over her head to hide the sinister S engraved on her forehead.

She couldn't believe it was really was her birthday, or was going to be soon. That was the most confusing thing about midnight. In one sense it was late night, and yet on another it was early morning.

She always loved celebrating her birthdays much like everyone else does with theirs because it was such a special day and all about her. She loved celebrating it to the fullest till it was over, but she felt so otherwise with this particular birthday. She wished for this day to be over with as soon as possible or better yet not come at all.

Flora gripped the railing of the balcony and looked up, seeking no comfort of early morning sunrise. Nothing could shake the deep-pit feeling in her stomach horrible things were going to happen.

When a hand came down on her left shoulder, she nearly jumped out from her skin. She turned around and saw Helia's gentle smiling face looking back at her.

"Happy birthday, Flora." He said.

_Please don't remind me_, she thought curtly. Tears rushed to her eyes, but she bit her lip to hold them in and refused to let them fall. She wished she could run into Helia's arms and cry on his shoulder like she used to whenever she needed a crying moment. She long for a warm hug from him, but stood her ground. There was no telling if the tension between them has been finally put to rest and he would know something was up the moment he felt her blazing marks burning hot through her robe and burning his own skin.

"I can't believe my birthday is really here. I didn't think time would go so fast." She forced a small smile on her face.

"I know," He then cleared his voice when an uncomfortable silence folded between them, getting her attention back to him. "Flora, I wanted to…apologize for the way I've been acting."

"Can you at lease tell me why, Helia?" She asked. "What did I do that made you so…withdrawal?"

Helia was hesitant for words, trying to choose his words carefully. How in the realms was he going to explain the unexpected visit from their least favorite person and what was told to him when the devil-demon compelled her to forget about what happened? He blamed Alaric for his damn words and blamed himself for even listening to those words. Blamed Julio's thoughts that kept telling him of Rosalina's betrayal and the two girls were more alike than one would think.

Taking in a deep breath, he let it out in a sigh and said "So many thoughts and memories of the past have rushed back to my head. I just had a lot to think about."

"Did you finally figure out your thoughts?"

After a long pause, he finally figured out his answer after doing some thinking. Whatever happened in the past was something he couldn't change even if he wanted to. He remembered about the vow he made when he was Julio, a promise he made to himself when he was aware of their fates.

To remember and protect her.

Regardless of whatever happened in their past didn't change anything on how he felt about her. Couldn't fact the love he still felt for her, he still cared about her.

"Yes, I finally did. I realized I was acting like a child over certain matters of the past. Whatever happened in the past will always remain in the past. I'm so sorry, Flora. Can you ever forgive me?"

She didn't give an answer and as her eyes dropped down to the ground, his heart sank down to his stomach. Of course, she wasn't going to forgive him. After doubting her, he didn't expect her to.

Flora slowly looked up at him, taking in a deep breath. Slowly a smile broke across her face. "That's a question you don't even have to bother asking. Of course, I forgive you."

Helia smiled at her, grateful, and decided the best thing to do to show his true gratitude was to make sure she had the best birthday she ever had. He leaned in for a kiss, but she quickly pulled away and said she needed to take a shower and get ready.

"Okay," Helia slowly said. "How long will it take you to get ready?"

"Twenty to twenty-five minutes." She answered.

She watched him grab the things he was going to need for the day, heard his footsteps growing more fainted as he walked out the door and listening to his reminder to his reminder to meet him and her friends downstairs at the breakfast lounge when she was done. She waited till she was sure he was gone and heard the door shutting behind him to finally let her smile drop.

Sighing, she fell to her knees, running a hand through her bed worn hair and closed her eyes for a moment to have a moment of peace. She was so glad for Helia's apologize and things were slowly going back to normal, but that wasn't enough to cure the numbness her mind and body were feeling.

What was going to await her on this day? She shook her head, trying to clear her mind of anymore unwanted thoughts.

Flora came back into the room after she got herself together and went into the bathroom to get herself ready.

She decided a nice shower and bath would settle her nerves.

Everything in the bathroom was decorated in colors of shining white porcelain and golden rim, right down to the floor tilts. The bath tub was exquisite masterpiece: ceiling showerheads huge in length and width, gusting water like a heavy raindrops, the bathtub height up to her thigh and was four feet deep, and the tub faucet was a feet long and sprouting a cool stream of water like a waterfall.

Flora turned on the showerhead, spread out her arms, and sighed in pleasure as water fell heavily onto her body, cooling off the burns she felt with her marks, making her forget about all her trouble. She spent a good five minutes twirling around as the shower rained on her body, feeling like a thirsty flower getting a cool drink of water. She then scrubbed her body good and head, using strong elbow grease, with a bath sponge she drowned in body wash, as if to try to scrub away the sinister symbols, and washed her hair with the hotel's shampoo bottles, also scrubbing it hard down.

Before she could start with her bath, she let all the water she used in her shower go down the drain before filling the tub up with fresh water and pouring lots of bubble soaps with the scent of cucumber and mint into it.

She thought her bath would be much better if she played one of her favorite songs. She did a musical spell Musa taught her whenever she was without a music player and needed to hear her songs, and soon enough her song was playing.

_The autumn rain is falling down_  
_Through the clouds, hits the ground_  
_Wash away traces in the sun_

_Yesterday, so far away_  
_They disappear, love was here_  
_I close my eyes to be with you again_

_You're still alive, the world is in your hand_

_Dream on dreamer_  
_And the sun will always shine down on you_  
_Keep on dreaming_  
_It's alright, feel alive_

_Dream on dreamer_  
_And the world keep spinning around and around you go_  
_Don't stop dreaming_  
_It's alright, we're alive_  
_(We're alive)_

_I light your name across the sky_  
_I'll be with you 'til the end of time_  
_Don't wake me up, I'm reaching for your hands_

_I'll never go to break your heart_  
_No matter if you're near of far_  
_Just close your eyes to be with me again_

_You're still alive, the world is in your hand_

_Dream on dreamer_  
_And the sun will always shine down on you_  
_Keep on dreaming_  
_It's alright, feel alive_

_Dream on dreamer_  
_And the world keep spinning around and around you go_  
_Don't stop dreaming_  
_It's alright, we're alive_

She sighed in pleasure, finally finding her moment of peace. This was exactly what she needed.

The water rippled with her unknowing.

Something slithered and tugged on her foot, which made her open her eyes and pull her foot back.

The thing grabbed her foot again and the other one, startling Flora, then starting to pull her in harder.

She tried to pull back her feet, tried to find something to hold onto but couldn't find anything. Whatever was pulling her apparently didn't want her to let go and easily pulled her underwater.

Flora could do nothing but watch the light above grow dimmer, the clear waters she was just bathing in turning murky like she was instead some river. Something was definitely wrong. Somehow the four feet tub was now an endless wide ocean and more than hundreds of feet deep. The last breath she took she tried to make last, willing it to last but instead dwindled into nothing. Fighting her terror, she looked down and was terrified once again to see black shadows taking on the form of vines wrapping around her ankles, refusing to release her and pulling her even deeper.

Suddenly her descent ended, and she was left suspended upright in the deep, dark depths. The pressure in her made her head throb painfully. Her ribs felt crushed, her lungs compressed and begging for a breath of air. She struggled not to take in a breath, knowing there was not a speck of air in the deep water.

The shadows that were just vines holding her ankles rooted underneath her feet, expanding into it was as wide as ocean floor and swirled around her like a tornado, making her dizzy and slowly losing consciousness.

Through her fight for oxygen, a pair of bright eyes the color of blood were staring back at her, too beautiful they should be priceless yet frightening to look out without fear shooting through her body.

"Flora." it said. The voice sounded as young and innocent as a child yet deep and smooth, almost adult-like, sounding almost female and was very familiar.

Her lungs were burning like fire from lack of oxygen. Water seeped through her vision, filled her nostrils, her head. She fought to stay conscious as long as she could, refuse to succumb to darkness.

She had to breathe.

"You are truly the reincarnation of Rosalina, known as Libitina in her legacy and the angel of darkness. You were born for a prophecy and one prophecy only. And that is to release Libitina within you, let her be freed and live once more, and let darkness consume all the realms."

_Never!_ That was what she wished she could scream.

Streaks of black from the shadows came together in front of her, gathering up more black streams and taking on a form. A form with the appearance of black outlines, but was a girl regardless, a girl who had her appearance but the same eyes as whatever was just speaking did.

Libitina.

"Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday to dear Flora and to me," she sang, her signature sweetly dark smile spreading across her face, her red eyes glowing brightly like crimson fire. "It such a marvelous day to celebrate the end of all the realms, wouldn't you agree, puppet?"

Flora wished she could scream at her, wished she could spit at her like she did with Alaric. Only she knew she couldn't and could only stare at her coldly.

"Don't give me that face, sweetie," Libitina said. "You should happy anyway. Today is such a marvelous day, at least for me. Can't say the same for the rest of the places and people who are going to be destroyed soon."

Flora felt her vision darkening from the unconsciousness slowly sinking into her. She tried to free herself from the shadow's grip, needed to breathe. Her efforts, unfortunately, couldn't save her.

"You knew this day would come sooner or later," the dark queen smiled. "The prophecy will be fulfilled, Flora. One way or another. Even if that does require the destruction of your friends, your family, and the slaughter of Julio's reincarnation for it to be so. Their blood will be on your hands."

_NO!_ Flora screamed in her mind, tears streaming down her face once again. She refused to let the prophecy come true and let Libitina finish what she started many centuries ago. She would be darn to heck if she let Libitina, Alaric, or anyone or anything hurt the ones she cared about and loved.

The shadows squeezed her tight, so tight she accidently opened her mouth and allowed water to slam into her mouth, filling her lungs. It crushed her until she was nothing. Nothing but darkness and hot salty tears spilling from her eyes.

"NO!" Flora yelled, her legs kicking and arms flinging, splashing water onto the floor. It took her a full minute to realize she was back in her bathtub, no longer at the mercy of the shadows. She ran her hands through her hair, her face and cheeks; everywhere she could touch, and was astonished all the marks were gone.

What just happened to her?

If she wasn't so shocked, she would have thought she was having a daydream while she was bathing or a hallucination.

She wanted to believe that, but it was too vivid to be some dream or hallucination. Which means….it had to be real?

She quickly got out from the tub, not wanting to another taste of that horrifying experience. She wrapped one towel around her body, another around her wet hair, and left the bathroom.

Fifteen minutes later, with her hair looking decent and letting it down, her teeth brushed clean and shining, making absolutely sure the marks were gone, Flora was ready for the day. She was dressed in her favorite bright pink tank top that was soft like cotton but smooth like silk, stonewash denim pleated-hem mini skirt with bright pink pokco dot scarf belt tied around it, and comfortable pink ballerina flats. She admitted she looked good, she only wished she felt good, too.

_You can't let Rosalina get to you_, she thought, looking at her reflection with determination in her eyes. _Today may be the day of the prophecy, but it's also your birthday. This could possibly be the last day you have with your friends, so enjoy it to the fullest._

Making that promise under her breath, Flora grabbed her purse and went down traits to the lobby, heading straight down toward the breakfast lounge. She surprised to see the place was pitch-black and empty, though she made plans with her friends to meet them here for some breakfast.

She smiled to herself as she slowly walked over to the light-switch, knowing exactly what was going to happen when she switches on the light. She was still going to play along though. "Geez, it's so dark in here," she said to herself. "I should probably turn on the light."

The very second she flipped on the switch, her friends, guests of the hotel who didn't really know, Sunnyvilla Paradise hotel employees, and Mr. Gubo came out from their hiding spots with big smiles plastered on their faces, shouting loudly "Surprise! Happy birthday, Flora!"

"You guys," Flora smiled, touched. "You shouldn't have."

Musa and Layla rolled in with a three-layer chocolate and vanilla birthday cake decorated with pink frosted roses and creamy white vanilla frosting ,sitting on a plastic cart with over dozen lit up candles and Happy Birthday, Flora written in pink frosting. They sang together as they rolled in the cake over to Flora, who had her mouth over her hands and looked like she was close to crying tears of joy any minute. "For she's a jolly good fellow, for she's a jolly good fellow, for she's a jolly good fellow," they paused for a moment, singing the fellow part in high note. "Which nobody can deny."

"Happy birthday, Flora." They were the first ones to give her a big birthday squeeze, and soon the others were fighting to give her the next hug.

"Make a wish." Bloom said, gesturing toward the lit up candles just waiting to be blow up.

"And please hurry, because that's one good-looking cake and I'm starving." Nabu grinned.

Layla nudged her boyfriend in the elbow, hissing his name, making the rest of the laugh.

Flora smiled at all her friends and the people who wished her a happy birthday, feeling tears rushing to her eyes. Then looked down at the candles, reminding herself to hurry up so they would all have cake.

Even though I know of the prophecy, I still wish for this day to be unforgettable and magical in even possible way fate will allow it to be, Flora silently wished with her eyes closed for a moment. Please make this final day with my friends as unforgettable and perfect as it can be.

She took in a deep breath and blow out all the candles, grinning as the sound of loud applause thundered in her ears.

Mr. Gubo embraced her warmly and peaked her on the forehead, both cheeks, and nose. Behind his back and being held in one hand was a small silver tiara encrusted with small rhinestones that was beautiful regardless of it's' size. When Flora pulled away from his hug, he bowed low to her and slowly placed the crown on her head, like he was crowning a princess. Grinning at her smiling face, he wrapped one arm around her, turned her to the crowd, and said "Ladies and gentlemen of the fabulous Sunnyvilla Paradise hotel, it gives me with great pride and pleasure to present to you our birthday princess. Princess Flora. She's a beauty, isn't she?"

Another round of loud cheers and applause was the answer of the question.

Everyone helped themselves a slice of delicious cake, but it was Flora and her friends who had the most slices. Especially Nabu pigging out to twelve slices and stealing a few bites from his girlfriend's plate when she wasn't looking and getting nudge in the ribs for that.

"You guys really didn't have to do this for me," Flora told her friends, taking bites of her seventh slice of cake and licking the delicious frosting off her fork. "I mean, it's only birthday. Nothing special."

"Just your birthday? Nothing special?" Once again, Stella did her part of a over zealous drama queen proud by making her face a mask of shock with her eyes bugging out and mouth agape, her left hand placed over her heart like she was suffering from a heart attack. "How many times must I tell you, darling? In this friendship-"

"Can it, Stella!" they all, including her Brandon, said, cutting her long, overly dramatic speech.

"So, what did you wish for?" Bloom asked.

"If I told you guys, then it wouldn't come true." Flora teased with a twinkle in her eyes.

After stuffing their stomachs and making sure extra slices got sent to their rooms, they made it officially known that today was Flora's day and she was in charge of what they were going to do.

Expect telling her not to visit Sunset beach, the same beach they've been heading to the last few days, and asked her to save the beach for last.

Before Flora could figure out what they were going to do, Stella decided it was the perfect time for her to present her gift. She admitted that after all the time she had spent in nearly all the stores they visited the past few days; she couldn't find the perfect gift for her. So, Stella said her gift was something the girls do just do together: a morning of shopping and Stella letting Flora buy anything she wanted with her credit cards hr generous father wouldn't mind using after some 'dealing' with his daughter and then treating the girls to a relaxing afternoon at the spa.

The boys weren't exactly happy-campers to be carrying the girls' shopping bag again, but Flora still thought Stella was being generous and loved spending the morning shopping with the girls and hitting the shops. Which was exactly how they found themselves hitting every store in the entire resort, going from store to store, trying on cute clothes and taking silly pictures of themselves as they got changed in the dressing rooms while the boys waited outside carrying their hundreds of shopping bags.

"I swear," Riven said. "If there is one thing I hate a girl says so much it's the following words and I quote 'let's go shopping'".

"For once, I actually agree with Riven." Timmy said, shock written on his face and making Riven want to smack him.

"Aw, come on, boys," they could hear Stella loudly crying out to them. "This is my gift to Flora and we're only using it."

"Stella, you are aware you could have gotten her a gift card to her favorite clothing store as a present?" Brandon suggested.

Sky nudged him and whispered in his ear "We should know since that's you, me, Timmy, and Riven gotten her."

"What good would a gift card be when your rich dad insists that you use your favorite credit card to buy your best friend whatever her hearts desire?" Stella said, not asking a question but making a statement.

"Why do I have a real good feeling when Stella shows daddy-kins the credit card bill, he's going to need a hospital to cure his massive heart attack?" Nabu said.

While the boys were trying to entertain themselves as they waited for their girlfriends to be done, the girls were taking all the time they needed in the dressing room, creating such cute outfits with their fashionable selection and making one another laugh with some of the crazy clothes they knew they wouldn't buy in a million years.

Like the one Stella was modeling to Lady Gaga fashion (A/N get lyrics), wearing a plum purple button-up vest over a silk lavender blouse, a knee-length navy pleated skirt, and navy pumps. For accessories, a faux pearl necklace and brown speckle glasses she picked up just for fun. She even tied her golden blonde hair up in a bun to make the outfit better.

"What do you think, dahlings?" she asked, striking a model pose.

The girls could better say anything as they stared at Stella for one second and burst into laughter. Bloom was able to say through her giggles while she was snapping a few pictures of her friend "You look like librarian."

"I think the school librarian and Ms. Griselda would have a stork if they saw her now." Tecna said, making the girls laugh even harder.

"Ha, ha, ha. Very funny." Stella tried to put on a stern face, but was soon broken by her quivering lips close to letting out the laughter. She couldn't really blame them for laughing at what she was wearing. When she was in dressing room changing into it, it took everything she had to hold in her laughter. Besides the fact it scream librarian, one of the top things she hates was being mistaken for, it so wasn't fluttering and doing any favors to her body. Scratch that, they were killing her body by not showing her curves.

While Stella went back inside her changing room to change into a more flattening outfit, Musa and Layla emerged from theirs at the same time, wrapped their arms around each other's shoulders, and presented themselves like models. Musa was able to make a perfect combination of sporty girl and girly-girl with a white/black striped silk and cotton ¾ sleeved chic top with a pocket attached to the shirt, skinny but comfortable faded jeans adorned with black beading to give it a certain edge, and skinny black scrunch yet adorable pumps. Layla looked fabulous in a midnight blue ruffle tiered camisole top with a black bow tied around the waist and black trimming, the same jeans Musa was wearing but looked tighter, and high-heeled boots.

Stella had to come out from her room, dressed in a long sleeved blouse that came down her knees, to check out what they were wearing and both gotten a fashion approval from the fashion guru. She thought they looked adorable, very good color choices, and added comments she knew were a boiling push to their buttons. "Who would have ever guessed our tomboys would be now dressing like girly-girls they claimed they would never be? I'm so touched by this special moment, I think tears are coming."

She faked a sniffle and wiped an imaginary tear from her eyes, making Bloom and Flora and Tecna laugh while Musa and Layla shared a private look at one another before they picked up t-shirts lying on the ground and tossed them at Stella, who caught one on her head and another in her mouth, she immediately spit out and wiped her mouth clean with her hand.

"As much I love clothes, I definitely do not love them when you're in my mouth!" She glared at Musa and Layla, who were too busy cracking up to even notice Stella's look.

"Stop glaring at them, Stella, and tell me what you think about this one." Tecna did a small twirl in a jogging purple track suit and lavender goo-goo boots from the eighties.

One look at Tecna's outfit, the girls could barely say a word through their roar of laughter. Flora was practically dying inside her dressing room and leaning against the dressing room, Musa and Layla were leaning against each other with streams of tears running down their cheeks, Bloom in fetal position and laughing so hard she had to clutch onto her stomach, while Stella was the only one able to stand up through her roar of laughter, which was the loudest out of the girls.

"What's going on in there, girls?" Brandon cried out when he and boys heard another loud round of laughter inside the dressing room.

"Nothing." They answered in unison, trying to get the words out from their laughter.

Stella gave another one-over look at Tecna, who returned her look with a glare, and shook her head, marking it a fashion don't. Saying while holding up two fingers with a strong empathize behind it "Hell no!"

Ignoring Tecna's groan and rolling eyes, Stella decided to take measures into her own hands. She pushed Tecna into her dressing room and went inside with her, ignoring Tecna's protests and helping her change into an outfit that was a fashion do and not don't.

"Ladies, a true fashion do." Stella gestured her hand at Tecna once they got out. She looked more much better in a black strapped mini dress that was simple in a dressy sort of way but still perfectly comfortable, a cute cowboy hat, and sensible-heeled leather cowgirl boots.

"Much better." Bloom said, and the girls could pretty much agree on that. Including Tecna, who was starting to like the outfit more the longer she was wearing it.

"I really don't own that much black." She said, looking at herself in the full-length mirror.

"Sugar, just cause you ain't wear the color that much doesn't mean it won't do wonders to your bodies," Everyone stared at Stella in shock, their eyes widening once they had a genuine Southern accent drawling in her mouth. Stella continued on talking, completely unaware as she draped one arm around Tecna. "You know what they say. Black is so slimming on any figure."

"Stella?" Bloom approached her slowly, putting a hand on her friend's arm. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Why everything is as clear as rain, doll-" Stella took a moment to listen closely to how she was talking, her eyes going cross-eyes for a moment when she recognized the drawl, and shook her head. "Now that was just odd."

"Stella, for a minute there, you sounded a lot like Chelsea. Got the accent down just right." Flora has seen and remembered plenty of visions of her past to remember what Chelsea sounded like.

"Huh." Stella gave a shrug. "Probably because of the strange dream-Owwwwwwwww!" She cried in pain, wincing as Bloom and Tecna in unison elbowed her hard in the ribs, giving her the same glare looks Musa and Layla were giving her with one clear message behind their eyes that was really crystal as rain.

Keep your mouth shut!

Right after they had the strange dream or contact with their relatives, the girls scrambled onto their feet, woke up their groggy boyfriends who weren't so happy being woken up so early in the morning, and even had to quietly tip=toed to Flora's room to get Helia to join them outside in the hall where they told them all that happened and the warning. Right away they told the guys, Bloom called Nathalie and Ms. Faragonda, who warned them to call again when danger comes. They all made a agreement to make Flora forget about the dark sides of her birthday and focus on making this the best day she had ever had, also making a pact swear to not say a word about the dream.

"Dream?" Flora looked at each of their face, confused. "What dream?"

"The dream about…" Stella was struggling to come up with something, not well when she was dealing with pressure. "Where I was going to a Halloween party on Earth and I was permanently spelled to speak Southern."

She winced again and bit her lip, nearly drawing out blood when she felt another nudge in the ribs by Bloom and Tecna, feeling Layla and Musa's eyes boring into the back of her head.

"Okay then." Flora decided to go back into her dressing room and try another outfit.

The moment she was gone, Stella was surrounded by four girls looking not to happy with her.

"Stella." They hissed, arms crossed over their chests and frowns darkening their faces.

"I don't deal well under pressure." She held her head, despite the fact she was feeling a bit mortified she nearly blew the secret.

"I swear one of these days we seriously have to make sure we spell you to keep your mouth shut when we tell secrets," Musa said. "Because we always fail to realize when it comes to secrets, the easiest way for anyone to find out about them is just to look you right in the eyes and you'll be spilling your guts out ten seconds flat."

The girls quickly composed themselves when they all heard Flora coming out and applauded for the marvelous outfit she put together, snapping pictures while she modeled for them. She looked marvelous in a silk, shoulder-off golden brown mini dress with sequin swirls of gold around the hem and darker gold trimming, and gold espadrille sandals.

"You look so great," Stella said. "Remind me to ask you that when you buy that."

"You guys really like it." Flora couldn't resist doing another twirl in the dress, loving the fact the skirt twirled with her movements.

"Totally."

"It's so cute."

"You look amazing."

"Hey, Flora, you know how we're best friends and everything, and we tell each other everything?" The girls looked at Stella confused like Flora did, all of them unsure if they were going to like where this was going.

"Yes." Flora answered slowly.

"Okay, don't think I'm asking this because I'm looking for gossip or whatever, but I really am curious. I noticed how close you and Helia are, even closer now that you two found out you're lovers from past lives, and it's pretty obvious you two are in love," Stella lowered her voice, but it was loud enough for her friends to hear her. "Did you two…do it?"

"Stella!" Tecna, Musa, and Layla exclaimed while Flora was too shocked and blushing bright red as a tomato to even speak and Bloom was starting to choke on her chewing gum, which Tecna cured fast with a spell.

"Let's not moke, let's not croak, stop the choke!" A snap of her fingers, Bloom was able to stop choking and spit her bubble gum into the wrapper, then tossed it into the trash can.

"Have you lost your mind?" Bloom said, gesturing her hand toward Flora, who was frozen in place, her entire face and neck bright red and eyes bugging out. "You shocked her."

"I was just curious," She shrugged, and then turned to Flora, who was still in shocked state. "If it makes you and the girls feel better, then I'll tell you something I never told you guys before. Snookums and I made love."

It wasn't shocking enough the fact that Stella was deflowered and now telling them about it, but the way she was telling them was completely unfazed, as if she told them she just went to spa to get a manicure.

"What-how-when-huh?" Bloom scrambled with words, not sure where to start.

Since Bloom was tongue-tied for the moment, Tecna decided to translation her un-scramble words into sentences; asking Stella "I think what Bloom is trying to say is when exactly did this happen?"

"And why didn't you tell us?" Flora asked.

Stella twirled a lock of her blonde hair with her fingers, avoiding their eyes, but had a reddish color spreading on her cheeks but had the love-sick grin whenever anyone spoke of Brandon. "I was going to, but wanted to wait at the right time. But since the cat is out of the bag, I guess I better start spilling," Stella went out to see what the boys were up to and saw they were huddled close to watch a football game on Timmy's PDA while Helia was entertaining himself by sketching a drawing in his sketchbook. Luckily, they were sitting on couches too far away to listen to what the girls were talking about. She came back inside, the girls gathered in a circle and sat down on the ground, and started talking "It was last year when we were all juniors. Right after my disastrous princess ball, we went to find the mirror of truth to turn me back into me, and Brandon was saying all that sweet stuff on how even though I didn't look like myself, he still loved me. The thing is, girls, I always thought people liked me because I was pretty. Thought that was the reason so many boys fought over me, thought that the reason why you guys liked me, and why Brandon wanted me."

Bloom put her hand over Stella's, and she and the girls all smiled gentle smiles at her. "Stella, we could care less if you were green with purple scales and black feathers. We like you for you, whether you're pretty or not."

"She's right, queenie," Musa nudged Stella in the elbow, and the two shared a laugh. "You may be a drama queen, who drives us up the wall half the time, but you're still our drama queen and we like you just the same."

"Thanks guy," Because Bloom and Musa were closest to her, they were able to get hugs from Stella while Flora, Tecna, and Layla got smiles from her. "Anyway, after I was changed back to myself and we got settled in, Brandon took me for a date and we watched the sunset on the beach. It was so perfect being there alone with no one there to bother us, watching the sun slowly set. He looked at me, I looked at me. We kissed for the longest time, our kiss slowly deepened and became hotter, the hot and deep kisses turn into make-out session that make-out session involved us slowly taking off our clothes, and the rest is history."

Silence filled between them, Stella thinking about her first time with her love, the girls thinking about what theirs would be like. Finally Musa broke the silence by saying in a surprising, timid voice "What was it like?"

"Honestly?" They all quickly nodded their heads, and Stella sighed dreamily, rubbing her hands on her lap. "It was everything I expected it to be. I know this sounds so cheesy, but it was honestly the most magical time of my life and a moment I will never, ever forget."

"Did it hurt?" Layla asked.

"A bit," Stella shrugged. "But Brandon was such a sweetheart throughout the whole thing. Whenever I would wince or whimper, he would kiss me and the pain would be gone in a snap. He made sure all the pain was gone and I was as comfortable as I could be. Then the pain soon became pleasure."

"You did use protection, didn't you?" Tecna asked.

"Of course we did. I carried a condemn in my purse because I had a strong feeling we were going to need it and used birth control pills," Stella couldn't resist laughing a bit and explained to the girls why after she saw the odd looks they were giving her. "I only have one thing to say if we had unprotected sex and I got pregnant or had some illness. My baby will need a new daddy when my dad is done with Brandon."

All the girls laughed at that joke. Stella wiped a tear from her eye and sighed. "So, what about you girls?"

"Timmy and I decided it would be much better to wait till we were both absolutely sure and ready for something so special and sacred." Tecna immediately wanted to put that out, knowing she would be the first one Stella would ask.

"Same thing for me and Nabu." Layla said.

"Musa?" Stella raised an eyebrow.

Musa looked at their faces slowly, the faces of her best friends who she told everything to and could trust with secrets. "You guys swear what we say now is never leave this circle?"

"Cross out hearts and hope to die, bound until the end of time." They each made a cross sign over their chests and hooked their pinkies together.

"Okay," Musa closed her eyes and slowly out a deep breathe. "Riven would freak if he found out I told you, but…we…made love around the time after we got the water stars and finally told each other we loved each other. We were safe and used protection; I won't tell you where we did it, but I can honestly say it was one of the most magical times of my life."

"Was it rough?" Stella said. "Riven seems like the kind of guy who rough with everything, so was the sex rough? Did he handle you good?-"

"Stella!" Musa cut off. "It wasn't rough at all. In fact, it was actually pretty sweet and everything I hoped it would be."

"Whoa!" the girls said in unison, making Musa blush bright red.

"Shut up!" Musa said, covering her face with her hands.

Bloom decided they had enough time teasing Musa, so it was time to move on. She said she and Sky haven't found the right moment to finally do it, which was the same thing Flora said about her and Helia.

By the time the boys looked up, they saw the girls were finally done with their shopping, carrying tons of bags in their hands and laughing among each other as they walked over to them.

"Hello there, ladies," Brandon greeted. "Tell us, what have you been talking up?"

Looking at Brandon for a moment, they shared a look among themselves and then burst into unexpected giggles. "Oh, nothing interesting." Stella said.

"Girls." Riven rolled his eyes, annoyed.

When the girls were finally done shopping, which was a thank goddess moment for the boys, Flora decided to do something that would be fun for all of them: bowling. Layla led them to the local bowling alley; all of them rented bowling shoes though it took a lot of persuasion to get Stella onboard, and spilt into teams after they went to two available lanes. Team one was Bloom, Layla, Timmy, Helia, Riven, and Tecna. Team two was Sky, Brandon, Nabu, Musa, Flora, and Stella. After playing for nearly two hours, it was team one who won and team two who ended up paying for their lunch.

Relishing in their glory, it was team one who decided where they were going to eat, which was an Italian-style restaurant with the best pizza ever to be served. They pulled two tables for six together and ordered a large appetizer dish of bread and chicken wings, then got two extra-large pizzas for the main course tat was so big it had twelve slices. A supreme with everything on it with extra cheese and pepperoni and an all veggie, extra-sauced pizza.

Somehow while they were eating and talking, they decided to do a group debate and the first thing on the subject was arrange marriages.

"I just really don't understand how someone could through with marrying someone they never really me before." Bloom said, taking a bit out of her second slice and washing it down with her soda.

"And often times, they don't met until the day of the wedding," Tecna said. "When you think about it, it serves more of a political purpose than a romantic connection. To draw alliances between two kingdoms or to simply raise your status in social society."

"I actually agree with you guys on that one," Riven shuddered at the thought of marrying some girl, who wasn't Musa, because his parents picked her out for him. "I would rather drop dead than marry some girl who could turn out to be some witch."

"Even if you didn't necessary agree to it, you would still have to do it," Sky tried to reason, even though he was in former arrangement he wasn't too happy with. "As a prince or princess, it's your duty to put your kingdom before yourself. Sometimes you would have to marry some witch or warlock for the good of your people, even though you would rather marry the girl you love."

"That's the bad part of it, though. I remember how my cousin got marry to some guy who's old enough to be her grandfather." Musa could never forget the miserable look behind her cousin's face as she walked down the aisle on her wedding day.

"Plus, the pair is not always so good. I mean look at my parents," Stella said. "Engaged at the age of sixteen, married and met for the first time at the age of seventeen, were eighteen when they had me, and finally discovered eight years later when they were twenty-six. Those eight years were filled with nothing but yelling, shouting, and a real fighting match. They honestly wanted nothing to do with each other, but tried to stick through with the marriage for my sake."

"I'll admit some arrangements are a bit kooky and not exact match-made in heaven, but you would surprise how your parents can match you with the perfect person." Layla gave Nabu an extra squeeze as she held his hand, blushing a bit when he turned to smile at her.

"Oh please," Stella dismissed Layla's comment with a wave of her hand. "This coming from the same girl who was so sure she was going to be marrying the devil, saying she would rather battle all the monsters in the universe to keep her from walking down the aisle."

While everyone laughed as Layla half-heartedly tossed a balled-up napkin at Stella's head, Flora soon cut off her laughter when she saw something sweeping on the wall.

Black shadows, which looked so much like the ones that held her captive in her delusional dream, running down the walls in streaks and forming into a thick sea of blackness as they came together when they touched the ground, quickly heading straight to their table.

Flora could only look at them, shocked, words unable to come out from her mouth as she watched them coming closer to her. She quickly excused herself from the table, not waiting for her friends' replies, and then ran to the bathroom, quickly closing the door behind her.

She saw she was safe for the moment, for there were no shadows lurking anywhere, and saw she was alone in the restroom but was starting to feel so light-headed. The world was spinning around her, she was so sure she was close to fainting, and then there was nothing but blackness.

_By the time she finally opened her eyes, she saw she was in a completely room. A bedroom to be exact that was huge and beautifully decorated, looking like a grand place for someone royal like a princess or queen to sleep in, wall-length double-sided glass windows showing nothing but the eternal midnight darkness outside, and a big poster bed that was a canopy with silk crimson drapes and was occupied by two people. _

_When Flora stepped closer, she saw who they were and blushed bright red, her eyes widening. _

_Libitina and Alaric._

_Together, lying in the same bed._

_Looking like they weren't dressed in that much clothing._

_Libitina seemed to be the only one awake, looking up at the ceiling with dull eyes as her cheek was pressed against Alaric's shoulder, trailing her hand up and down Alaric's washboard chest which were leaner and toned than Flora thought they would be. With his black eyes closed, a satisfied smile on his face, and his expression relaxed and peaceful, Alaric looked to be asleep as one arm was draped around Libitina. _

_What was so odd was that she was standing in a corner right near their bed, but they didn't bat an eye at her. Flora soon understood she was watching in person watching another memory unfolding before her, witnessing another act of the past. _

_Libitina sighed, really sounding like she was bored. Flora couldn't help being a bit relieved the girl was at lease dressed in a silk red and black lace, spaghetti-strapped night gown as she got out of bed, grabbed her bed robe lying on the floor, and walked over to her mirror._

_She was looking at her reflection in the mirror, with an expression on her face Flora couldn't quite read. She stood there for the longest time looking at herself in the mirror with that unreadable look in her eyes, then glanced down at the breathtaking engagement ring Julio proposed to her with. _

_Flora was shocked to see it was still on her finger. Rosalina seemed to not have any care of showing her feelings, so she assumed the ring was thrown away after she got what she wanted. _

"_Why do you still love that ring?" While Libitina was still gazing down at the ring, Flora turned around to see Alaric watching Rosalina as he stretched his arms and legs out, then lying his head back on the pillow and looking very relaxed. _

"_Simple," Rosalina lifted her head again, her eyes focusing on the mirror and looking straight at Flora, like she could actually see her. "It's still a beautiful ring."_

"_You are aware I could make you any ring you want. One with so many diamonds, no amount of money could come close to the right price."_

"_You are also aware I detect jealousy in your voice," She turned back to him, not longer interested in looking at the ring, smiling at his frowning face. "When are you going to stop worrying about Julio?"_

"_I want you all to myself." He answered simply with a shrug. _

_Rosalina smiled to herself and shared that smile with Alaric, which looked more to Flora like a smirk of someone who was too satisfied with herself. "Just as he wants me, but I'm the one who makes the rules."_

"_And why is that?" he asked. _

"_Because I'm spoiled, that's why." She slowly walked toward him, peeling off her nightgown and tossing it carelessly on the ground. _

"_Yes, you are." He smirked._

"_I'm selfish." She slowly joined him back in bed, straddling his hips and placing her hands on his shoulders. _

"_Yes, you are."_

"_And because I can do this," She rubbed his chest delicately before laying her head down on it. Alaric titled his head back and moaned a bit in pleasure. _

"_And this." She pressed butterfly kisses slowly all over his chest, letting her lips linger there and making Alaric's moans higher, kissing him all the way up to his chin till their eyes were leveled with each other. _

"_And sometimes, I get to do this." Rosalina placed both hands on Alaric's chest, at the exact spot where his heart would be beating at. Alaric seemed to be frozen in place, caught in some sort of trance while Rosalina placed her hands firmly against his chest and her eyes looked up at the ceiling, flashing silver before darkening to blooded red. Black and silverfish energy was pooled around Alaric, transferring from him into Rosalina, phasing right through her chest. _

_Flora wanted to look away from the sight, but her eyes wouldn't obey her and were stuck on watching this sick show. Then watching them a bit longer, she understood what Rosalina was doing. _

_Stealing emotional energy from Alaric, making her raven powers stronger. _

_Rosalina sighed in pleasure when she was done with her energy snack, pulling her hands away from Alaric's chest and watching him breaking free from the trance, smirking at his bewildered face. Alaric shook his head, as if to regain control of the moment, and then quickly placed Rosalina down hard to kiss her hard and passionately on the lips. Devouring would be the right word Flora would use to describe how their lips were hungrily attacking each other, as she quickly turned away so the two would have their moment in private. _

_When she slowly looked back, Flora was relieved to see the kiss was gone. Now what they were doing now was talking, or rather Alaric was talking while Rosalina looked down with an unreadable expression on her face, nodding occasionally but saying nothing. _

"_I sent Raven to visit different realms, so she could track down your friends like you requested. And she heard something very interesting," Alaric went on to tell her the same and last entry Flora read in Julio's diary, telling her about the sneak attack they plot to do at the castle, planning to end everything she worked her. _

_Surprisingly, Rosalina seemed completely unfazed of it, as if Alaric was telling her the daily weather for the rest of the week, like she already knew about it and thought it was something unimportant._

"_I see," was all she had to say about the matter. _

"'_You see' that's all you're gonna to say?" Alaric asked, confused. _

"_What else do you possibly expect me to say?"_

"_How about like you plan to do something to make sure they're taken care of before they step foot here? How about like you plan to do anything about it." He quickly shoved her off of him, ignoring her frown as he climbed out off bed. Dressed in nothing but white boxers. _

_Before he could take another step, Alaric was down on his knees, his eyes tightly shut, his hands gripping onto his head and crying out in pain as it burnt him inside._

_Confused, Flora turned to Libitina too busy watching Alaric in pain and smirking at it, no doubt absorbing more energy from him, her eyes glowing and flashing like mad flames. _

"_Next time, you wanna talk back to me, I suggest you don't." As much as it was in the beginning, watching Alaric scream in pain was quickly boring her and hearing him scream was getting on his nerves. Rosalina snapped her fingers, and he was sprawled on his stomach, no longer screaming but looking dazed. _

"_I just worry about you. If anything ever happens to you, then I would never forgive myself."_

_Flora couldn't help but feel so compassion for Alaric. It was kind of hard not to when you were seeing something like this like she was._

_Rosalina sighed, getting up from the pain and walking over to him. Flora watched as the dark angel kneeled in front of her lover, slowly stroking his hair and smiling gently at his face. "You are so cute when you're caring. I will make sure nothing ever happens to me. Besides, I already thought of a way that would possibly change their minds about the whole thing."_

"_And, what may I ask would be that?"_

"_You don't need to know. The only thing you need to know is that I will make sure things are taken care of," she smiled at him. "Besides, Alaric, who else are you going to spoil rotten like a little princess if I was gone?"_

Flora could never be anymore grateful that the vision was finally over and done with. She took a deep breath, shaking her head to clear the vision from her mind, and slowly left before any more memories would come to her head.

The day went by much faster than Flora expected it to be. This birthday was honestly the best one she has ever had, besides the whole weird thing that happened to her in the bathroom this morning and the shadows lurking in the restaurant where she had another flashback. No more visions or flashbacks came to her head after the one on Rosalina and Alaric at the restaurant, she was too busy enjoying all the time she was spending with her friends as they traveled practically all over the realm, saw the amazing sights including the marvelous grand volcano, posed for countless pictures and snapping embarrassing moments on film while the others weren't aware, and went on a hot-air balloon ride, seeing the realm high in the air and feeling like the top of the world.

The more time she was spending time with her friends, the sadder Flora would become as she treasured these moments, having a gut-wrenching feeling this was probably going to be the last day she ever spends times with them.

When nighttime rolled by, the gang went back to the hotel to freshen up and get dressed for another night of fun. But this time they weren't going to a club, they were heading to the beach.

To the huge surprise birthday they threw for her, decorating the place with some festive decorations and lots of balloons, inviting hundreds of their closest friends and some family members, hiring a few chefs to cook up a storm of the barbeque food and brought in the huge birthday cake for her, hundreds of birthday presents were stacked on the table, and a cool DJ Musa knew as a friend from her realm was spinning hot tunes on the turn tables.

They were too many gifts for her to open for one night, but they all wanted her to open the gifts the Winx girls and RF boys got for her. Bloom set a chair for Flora in the center and had her sit down there, so everyone could see what her closest friends gotten her.

From Sky, Brandon, Timmy, and Riven were eight hundred dollars each gift cards to her favorite pottery and clothing stores. From Nabu, beautiful white peonies and jasmine flowers in a priceless vase. Bloom and Tecna worked together to create a collage of the best pictures they taken on this vacation and a digital photo album of all the photos Tecna saved on a flash drive. Layla got her a cool pair of neon pink and black high-top sneakers and Musa's gift was something she was going to perform right now in front of everyone.

She got on the small stage they built for her friend, DJ Mike, who handed her the microphone and said "This song goes out to my gal, Flo, and five other best friends till the end."

_We sign our cards and letters BFF  
You've got a million ways to make me laugh  
You're lookin' out for me; you've got my back  
I__t's so good to have you around  
_

_You know the secrets I could never tell  
And when I'm quiet you break through my shell  
Don't feel the need to do a rebel yell  
Cause you keep my feet on the ground_

_You're a true friend  
You're here till the end  
You pull me aside  
When something ain't right  
Talk with me now and into the night  
'Til it's alright again  
You're a true friend_

_You don't get angry when I change the plans  
Somehow you're never out of second chances  
Won't say "I told you" when I'm wrong again  
I'm so lucky that I've found_

_A true friend  
You're here till the end  
You pull me aside  
When something ain't right  
Talk with me now and into the night  
'Til it's alright again_

Musa slowly got off stage and went over to Flora, wrapping one arm around her and smiling at her friend's smiling face, which looked close to crying tears of joy.

_True friends will go to the end of the earth  
Till they find the things you need  
Friends hang on through the ups and the downs  
Cause they've got someone to believe in_

The others girls gathered around Flora, singing the chorus with Musa and serenading Flora.

_A true friend  
You're here till the end  
You pull me aside  
When something ain't right  
Talk with me now and into the night  
No need to pretend  
You're a true friend  
You're here till the end  
Pull me aside  
When something ain't right  
Talk with me now and into the night  
'Til it's alright again  
You're a true friend __[3x]_

Flora had to just up and hug each every one of her best friends, feelings tears rushing to her eyes again and had to bit her bottom lip hard to make sure she doesn't let any tears slip out.

"Now, dahling, it's time for my gift," Stella reached inside her small sparkly bag and pulled out a small rectangle jewelry box she handed over to Flora with a smile. "Think of not only me, but the rest of the Winx girls when you wear this."

A look of both shock and joy lit up Flora's eyes as she slowly opened the box. Inside was a beautiful friendship silver charm bracelet with seven charms: a dragon, an eclipse of a half-moon and sun, a blossom flower, a musical note, the symbol for math equation of pi, a water wave ready to crash, and a heart with BFF engraved on the front in blue, golden orange, pink, red, purple, and green.

She was speechless as Stella helped her fasten the bracelet onto her left wrist, even more shocked than before to see her friends holding up their left hands and wearing the same charm bracelet on their wrists.

"You guys." Flora nearly croaked, so happy she was on the verge of crying.

"We know." It was all too clear what Flora meant to say by her words and grinned, sharing another group hug.

"Best friends forever." Bloom said.

The moment those words slipped off Bloom's mouth, a flashback quickly zoomed through her mind. An image of Luna, Chelsea, Melody, Titania, Lauren, and Rosalina meeting for the first time and making a pact to always stay best friends no matter what.

The smile on Flora's face slowly lost some of its' enthusiasm as she thought about the sisterly bond she had in her past life and how all it took to was one selfish, unimaginable betrayal to tear the sisterhood apart.

She realized her friends would know something was off when they saw the look on her face, so she quickly made sure her smile looked normal and perfect ad she was involve in conversation.

Helia was the only one left who hasn't shown his gift for his girlfriend. He made Flora sit down on the chair and got up on the stage.

"This is one of my gifts from me to you, Flora. Musa spent days helping me with this. Hope you like it."

_Oh, no,  
oh, no, oh_

He then started to really sing, startling everyone with his beautiful, strong voice.

_They say that hate has been sent  
So let loose the talk of love (of love, of love)  
Before they outlaw the kiss  
Baby, give me one last hug  
There's a dream that I've been chasing  
Want so badly for it to be reality.  
And when you hold my hand  
And I understand that it's meant to be.  
'cause baby when you're with me..._

_It's like an angel came by and took me to heaven_

_(came by and took me to heaven)  
'cause when i stare in your eyes it couldn't be better _

_(I don't want you to go, oh no, so)_

_Let the music blast  
We gonna do our dance  
Bring the doubters on  
They don't matter at all  
'cause this life's too long  
And this love's too strong  
So baby know for s__ure  
That I'll never let you go  
_

_I got my favorite girl  
Not feelin', no pain, no fear  
Don't have a care in the world  
Why would I when you are here?  
There's a moment I've been chasing  
And I finally caught it out on this floor.  
Baby, there's no hesitation, no reservation  
By taking a chance and more, oh no, because..._

Helia slowly got off and walked toward Flora, kneeling before and kissing her hand as he continued to sing.

_It's like an angel came by and took me to heaven_

_(came by and took me to heaven)  
'cause when i stare in your eyes it couldn't be better _

_(I don't want you to go, oh no, so)_

Helia slowly pulled her hand, holding her with one arm while holding the microphone in his other hand, gazing deeply into her eyes as he swayed with her to the music.

_Take my hand  
Let's just dance  
Watch my feet  
Follow me  
Don't be scared,  
Girl I'm here  
If you didn't know,  
This is love_

So, it wasn't too long before other couples were holding each other and dancing to the music, leaving some room for the birthday girl and her man to sway together.

_Let the music blast  
We gonna do our dance  
Praise the doubters on  
They don't matter at all (oh, baby)  
'cause this life's too long  
And it's much too strong  
So baby know for sure  
That I'll never let you go_

So don't fear.  
Don't you worry about a thing.  
I am here, by you (I'll never let you go)

Helia stopped dancing with Flora for a moment. He slowly took one step away from her and unwrapped his arm from her waist. He smiled at her smiling face, watching some tears leak from her eyes. He slowly brushed them away.

_Don't shed a tear.  
Whenever you need me,  
I'll be here (I'll never let you go)_

Oh no, oh no, oh... (I'll never let you go)  
Oh no, oh no, oh... (I'll never let you go)

After Helia's performance, The DJ was back in control and was kicking some hot beats. Helia and Flora danced together through one song, two songs, and three songs. They lost count after nine, knowing nothing else mattered except the fact they were together.

Soon, Helia pulled Flora away from the party to take her to some place quiet where they could be alone. He hasn't been able to take his eyes off her the whole night, particularly because his eyes have ever seen anything more beautiful. She stunned wandering eyes in cherry red silk shoulder-off tee with smoked sleeves, her legs seeming endless sporting a bleached blue frayed mini skirt she paired with matching red platform strappy heels, and hair was styled in two pigtails with matching red scrunchies.

He took her hand and Flora followed him onto a trail path leading away from the beach party, deep into the woods. Flora kept close to him and heard the fainted sound of rushing water the more steps they walked.

Just when she was certain they were never going to get there, Helia pushed aside an overhanging bush and she saw a clearing. Beyond it, she saw a breathtaking waterfall tumbling from a height of rocks and into a stone-littered pool where the water was so clear she could see all the way to the bottom, which looked very deep, water boiled up white and frothy, like a milkshake. The air felt so cool and moist with water droplets.

"Look," Flora cried, pointing. "I see a rainbow." Ribbons of color arched over the rumbling.

"Like the way light hits water droplets," Helia said. "Take off your shoes. I want to saw you something else and I have a good feeling you won't want to get them wet."

With her strappy platforms held in one hand, Flora took Helia's hand with her free one and let him lead down a trail that was directly under the waterfall, on a smooth rock with a smooth surface where they had themselves a seat, watching the water stream down into the pool. The rushing water was like a drum beat in her ears, thundering loudly, but she still loved it. She stuck her feet out into the tumbling water and sucked in her breath. "It's cold."

"But still nice, right?"

"Right. Very nice."

The silence between them was comfortable. Flora sighed as she nuzzled against his chest and Helia wrapped one arm around her, gently tracing her back.

"So you liked your birthday?" Helia asked.

Flora eased away from him a bit, so she could look him directly in the eyes. Cupping his face in her hands and weaving her fingers through his sleek hair, she said "This has been the best birthday I could have ever had."

"I think I know something that will make this birthday even more memorable." Helia said.

"What did you have in mind?" she asked.

He didn't answer her right away, only smiling at her as he stood up and peeled off his shirt. Flora tried with all her hardest not to stare but had no such success, her eyes darting every now and then at his lean, fit chest, her face warming up hot as heck when she thought how rude staring was but her heart racing as she thought how beautiful he looked.

Then without any warning, Helia ran through the rush of water and dove head first into the pool.

"You're crazy!" She exclaimed, laughing, as she watched Helia swim up to the surface and was shaking his head like a wet dog.

"Only crazy for you!" He said, making her look away but her cheeks blush. "Come in and join me."

Flora bit her lip, unsure. "I don't-"

"Come on, Flora," he put some charm in his smile, hoping it would make her swoon and join him in the water. "I promise I will make sure you're completely safe."

It looked a lot of fun and she honestly couldn't think of a better way to finish the end of her birthday than taking a moonlight swim with the boy she loves. Flora glanced up at the moon, seeing it was full and looked like a milky eye shining and looking down at them. She wasn't sure why but something about it was…chilling, as it stood there in the pitch night sky.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts and decided some swimming with Helia not only sounded fun, but would be the best thing to keep her from thinking.

She recited a fashion spell she picked up from the latest spell of the week from teen fairy: a clothing spell to change any clothing you're wearing now into something else for the occasion. Swirls of different shades of pink swirled around her body and freed her hair from their pigtails, changing her silk tee and denim mini skirt into a bright pink bikini that was sexy enough without being too skimpy and filling out nicely.

She looked down at the pool where Helia was looking up at her with a smile, gesturing her to come down, seeing it would be a ten feet dive from up here to down there. She sucked in her breath, decided this was now or never, and let out a cry of thrill as she ran through the stream of water, feeling it pouncing and dripping onto her body, and dove in. She remembered screaming loud in her mind from the thrill of jumping, feeling the cold water bathing her entire body. She opened her eyes and saw Helia was underwater with her, bubbles floating all around them and them holding each other's hands tightly.

When they finally surfaced above water, they both took time to catch their breaths and shook their heads.

"You okay?"

Instead of answering him, Flora wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tightly, smiling.

"I'll take that as a yes." Helia wrapped both arms around her waist, smiling down at her.

"A moment definite yes." She answered.

After spending fifteen minutes or so playing in the water and having so much fun together, Flora and Helia were back sitting on their smooth rock, dressed in their regular clothes and mostly dry, watching more water fall and fall.

"So, are you ready for your other gift?" Helia asked.

Flora nodded her head and held her breath as Helia slowly pulled out a small jewelry box from his pocket and slowly handed it to her. Flora looked down at the box for a moment, and then turned to Helia, questioningly. He nodded his head slightly, as if to encourage her to open the box.

Finally she did and gasped, suddenly unable to remember how to even breathe.

Inside was a necklace, but not an ordinary one you would find in the jewelry store. A necklace with a chain so shiny someone would mistake it for priceless silver and had a ring for the necklace charm. A one-carat princess diamond with a shimmering silver band ring they both recognized from some memories and a thing Flora thought she would never see again except in visions of the past and her dreams.

The same engagement ring Julio used to propose to Rosalina, looking just as she remembered it.

Flora finally tore her eyes away from Helia, too baffled to even speak.

"How did-" Helia cut her off, explaining.

"Don't forget you're not the only one who sees old flashbacks," he said with a small smile. "Two nights ago was the last bit of flashback I saw in my dream before my memory completely came back to me and I was able to remember completely remembered everything. I dreamt I was seeing Julio's memory of the night before the big battle and Rosalina surprised him by showing up to see him. She handed him over her ring and simply told him to keep it somewhere safe where he would give it to someone else who deserved it. Rosalina had no clue there was no one else besides her for him, so after she was gone, Julio went to the woods in Magix, to the exact spot where they first met. He put the ring inside it's' jewelry box and hid it inside an oak tree he marked with a broken heart, thinking it would be the perfect place to put the ring. After I had that dream, I had Stella help me get back to Magix early in the morning before anyone else was awake and quickly went to the forest. I kept searching for the oak tree till I finally found it and reached inside to find the box with the ring still inside."

"Oh my gosh." Flora thought about earlier before she dove in the water, she wanted something that would completely block out her thoughts. Helia finding and presenting her with a ring that was practically a symbol of their love in their past lives before everything was tore apart did just the trick. She wasn't sure what to say or make of this, so the only thing she could do was be stun and look down at the beautiful as more memories, some loving and some horrible stirring inside her head, thinking the ring was much more beautiful than she remembered it.

Wordlessly, Helia slowly took it away from her, gathered all her hair and pushed it to one side. He gently stroked her neck and kissed it, letting his lips linger there while Flora felt like she was melting to the ground, and then quickly helped her fasten it on. "It suits you."

Flora held the ring in her hand, feeling tears filling her eyes and letting them fall as she looked down at the ring, her ring.

She was such a horrible person for everything she put him through, simple as that.

"Helia…"

"Shh…" he silenced her by pressing his finger against her lips, gazing deeply into her eyes again.

Helia then closed the distance between them, his lips meeting hers hesitantly, almost teasing her, until he firmly placed them together. The world slowed down, disappearing into nothingness, until the only thing she was aware of was the shape of his lips. Of his soft lips and their touch making her inside tingle and tremble.

The kiss started out as a soft, gentle kiss, light as a feather-touch but as hot as the sun. Then everything grew intensified, growing more passionate and becoming hotter as Helia's tongue slipped through her mouth and her tongue brushed briefly against his, adrenaline pulsing alive in her veins.

The kisses soon became different as Helia slowly with care laid Flora on her back on the ground while he hovered over her, doing all this without removing the passionate lock of their lips. What happened next didn't even seem like a kiss anymore. A kiss when lips were pressed together and sometimes tongue action was involved every now and then, but what was happening between them now seem much, much more than an ordinary kiss. Their lips were crushed together and tongues danced wildly together, as if they were part of a hot salsa tango, and involved their hands feeling practically as much skin as they could.

Helia slowly broke the kiss, knowing they were going to need oxygen to breathe with sooner or later. His lips were nearly red, almost swollen from all their kisses, and as he looked down at Flora he saw her lips were in the same condition. And noticed something else in her eyes: desire, love, need. The same thing Flora saw in Helia's eyes.

Taking him by the chin, Flora slowly reeled him toward her and connected their lips together in a deep, slow kiss unhurried and seemed to go on for eternity. It could have gone on forever for all they cared.

Helia slowly pulled back again, gazing deeply into her eyes, like she stared deeply into his, emerald green and bright blue mixing together and becoming one.

_Are you sure?_ Teal eyes asked intensely.

_More than I ever been in anything else in my life_, emerald replied with desire and love swirling inside.

When their lips connected together again, it seemed much more than a kiss but was like it. A kiss that was warm and gentle on one hand but hot and deep on the other, both of them trying to be much closer to one another which seemed impossible since they were already as close as can be, and hands feeling everything it could. Pretty soon, slowly though in time, their clothes soon were gone. First Helia's shirt was slowly peeled off from his body, next off came with Flora's tee, and it wasn't too soon till he was in his white boxers and she in her strapless bra and panties.

Flora could only tilt her head back and moan as Helia's lips were nibbling on her neck, flames of passion and love burning deep in her as his fingers were slowly through her bra and stroking her chest, feeling like she was slipping away from reality and into a heavenly paradise where the stars were shining bright and heaven was close by. She wondered if this was how Stella and Musa felt when they were in this position, both nervous and scared but thrilled at the same time.

"I love you." He brushed his lips against hers.

"I love you, too."

He kissed her with so much passion and intensity; it stole her breath and made her immediately respond to the kiss, wanting-needing more. Each time his lips would pull away, even for a spilt second, she would whimper from the parching thirst running through her and soon moan in pleasure as their lips were together again. And with each slightly parting but reconnecting kiss, front hooks of Flora's cherry red bra would slowly be unhooked starting from the bottom to up.

Suddenly Flora was frozen still for a moment, her eyes widening.

Shadows-all the shadows from the trees, the rocks, and even Helia's own shadow were coming together, forming into the biggest piece of darkness she has ever seen in her life. Pushing Helia away from her, still unable to pull her eyes away from the sight, Flora saw the frightening blood eyes so breathtaking and chilling looking back at her as the shadows gathered underneath them.

"What's wrong?" Helia asked. He shook her slightly, as if to shake her out from whatever was going on, but that wasn't doing anything. "Flora, what's the matter?"

She wished she could speak, wished she could pull her away from the endless sea of darkness growing thicker and bigger before her eyes. Most of all wished she could breathe some air into her mouth, but she could only stare at the red eyes smiling darkly at her.

"It has begun." It said.

The moment those words were spoken, Flora saw the sky above them was becoming darker and darker till it was completely, shutting out the bright sliver glow of the moon and casting darkness throughout the realm. Helia seemed to be noticing, too, because his own eyes were widened as he stared at the sky and held Flora tighter to him.

Also, at the exact moment. Flora was starting to feel so odd, so strange; her body twitching as if something was trying to break free from her and feeling everything was burning wildly inside her. Something she wasn't able to control.

"Flora, what's wrong?"

Finally, she untangled herself from him, quickly dressed in her clothes, and ran as fast as she could away from him. Away from the waterfall, away from her friends, away from everything, so she could keep them safe.

"Flora!" she could hear Helia yelling after her.

She couldn't stop, she had to keep running. She couldn't afford to stop.

She quickly checked her phone for the time and saw it was nine forty five- almost two hours till midnight, the time when she could officially become eighteen and when the spell was destined to be performed.

She could only guess what was happening now was a warning.

A warning that far worse was set to come.

Her head picked the absolute most worse time to start feeling horrible, churning sickly inside and causing her more pain, making it so hard for her to even think straight about one thing. Her vision was fading in and out, sometimes zoning out and going black before she was able to see clearly again for awhile.

She stumbled a few trips and fall when she lose her balance, due to the extreme light-headedness her head would feel, but forced herself to quickly get back up and keep moving.

_No, no, no!_ Flora yelled in her head, willing herself to run faster and faster. _Not now, any think but now!_

The worse thing she was feeling right, besides the fact her head was spinning fast and her vision was fading in and out, was the intense heat firing up in her body, making it so far for her to even move without wincing and crying in pain. The same blisteringly, excruciating heat she felt when she woke up this morning, feeling like she was being eaten alive by scorning, harsh flames burning every limb in her body. And now it was back, this time somehow hundred times more intense and painfully burning hot than before.

_You know you cannot fight what is meant to be destined, Flora_, the voice of the mysterious spirit of the raven and cold-hearted dark angel said in unison, sounding like they were together and one.

"Flora!"

Flora took one quick look behind her shoulder, shocked to see Helia was catching up with her and seeing he brought friends along this time-or in case, her and his friends, who were also part of the chase Flora game they were playing.

A game she couldn't afford now to lose.

"Let's go Enchantix!" She quickly transformed herself, this time racing away by using her wings to take her faster away from them. She checked behind her and was displeased to see Bloom, Stella, Musa, Tecna, and Layla transformed and were flying after her while the boys were sticking to running as fast and far as their legs could carry them.

"We just want help you, Flora," Bloom cried after her. "You're our friend."

"Leave me alone!" She cried desperately, wishing they could take the hint and let her be, so they could take time to save themselves.

"Not until we get answers." Helia said, ignoring the cramp sores he knew would come back to haunt him and made himself run faster.

They were right under her tail, so she needed to think of a way to shake them and fast. It was clear she couldn't keep flying forever and if she went a different route, then they would just separate and take different paths so they could find her.

"Breathe of nature!" Stretching out her hands and tilting her back slightly, Flora let all her nature powers flow uncontrollably inside her body, feeling nature's energy flowing out her and coming to her aid. The wind blew a powerful wind at the girls, their wings no match for the strong wind tunnel and blew them each into a strong tree, who entangled them tightly with their dozens of branches and trapping them in a strong, inescapable trap. As for the boys, the grass beneath their feet suddenly grow tall at a increasing high height, reaching past the boys' neck, becoming so thick, they were suddenly trapped in it. And to make matters worse for them, ivy vines were wrapped around their hands and legs, making it even more impossible for them to escape.

"Flora, please!" Helia cried.

She couldn't believe she broken her promise of using her powers for anything else but self-defense and couldn't believe she used her own powers against her friends. Watching them squirm and struggle to break free, all just trying to help her, Flora almost had a mind to let them go but then quickly came to her senses.

Shooting them her friends an apologetic glance and shrug, Flora quickly made her exit.

She kept flying and flying through the woods till she finally found a safe spot at a mountain hill side. She landed near the top of the mountain, transforming herself back, and flew backwards to feel the soft grass beneath her, wanting to see if it could make her feel better.

She realized nothing would make today better. Nothing at all.

She checked the time again and saw it was ten minutes till ten. She had to figure some way to get out of here and go somewhere Alaric wouldn't be able to find, not caring where it was as long as the people she cares about are safe from any harm.

Only question was where? She most certainty couldn't hide in Alfea or couldn't afford going home and having destruction reek there first. There had to be some place where it would be far away from here as possible, the last place anyone would think to look for a fairy.

"You didn't really think we wouldn't escape there, would you?" Flora was praying she was having another of those hallucinations and she wasn't really Bloom's voice, but knew better than to think otherwise.

_You have got to be kidding me!_ Fate was soon becoming number six on her list of things she hated as Flora slowly stood up and saw her friends were all here a few feet away from her, their body language and facial expression showing determination and demanding answers.

"What are you doing here?" Flora slowly backed away from them, wrapping her arms around her body as she felt a chill tingly upwards her spine and while the intense heat of her body was making her feel dizzy. She could feel she was shaking, but not from cold, from the unbearable feeling something was trying to claw out from her.

"We're here to help you!" Tecna said.

"No one can help me!" Tears of anger and sadness streamed down her face and she just let them fall freely, no longer holding back on her tears.

"Yes, we can, Flora," Helia spoke to her gently as they were taking baby steps toward her, making her take steps back till she was reaching the top of the hill. "We're your friends and we want to help you."

"No!"

In her head, the sound of a clock chining the time was roaring loudly in her ears and was actually pounding through the air in reality, chining it was officially ten o' clock.

Flora screamed out, at the top of her lungs, starling her friends and making them jump as the blisteringly, scorning pain and heat in her body was becoming far too serve for her to even handle anymore. Her body was rebelling against her, limbs twitching madly as she had not control over herself and practically crying out from the pain.

The sounds of her screams were so loud and intense, the ground was shaking like a powerful quake had struck, making the friends lost their balance and fell/roll down the mountain, onto the flat grass below while Flora was the only one still standing and screaming more loudly than before with each second passing by.

Bright beams of brilliant red were shooting from her eyes and her agape mouth, piercing through the dark skies like a sharp knife, as the marks slowly were scripted onto her body, each one more blazing hot and brightly vivid than the last, saving the sinister S on her forehead for last.

"Oh my!" Tecna yelled.

"No." Layla murmured.

A powerful force slammed into them, hitting them like a boulder of innumerable rocks rushing to them at once, sending them onto the backs and slamming them hard on the ground.

The laser show finally ended and with a sucked in breathe, Flora slowly collapsed on the ground.

"Flora!" Helia worked through his pain to quickly get up and went over to Flora, gathering her in his arms and seeing how she was. She was lifeless as a doll in his arms, her body and limbs all limp and motionless, eyes open but their twinkle burned out and now nothing but dead, and the look of shock on her face.

The girls kneeled close to their best friend, seeing how fearful and horrible she looked and must have felt.

Helia titled her chin, forcing her limp head up and making her see his eyes. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"How could I?"

"Flora," Layla said. "Is today really the day? The end-"

"Of everything as we know it."

All the sadness, fear, and anger she felt toward this today she finally let out in endless tears streaming down her face and there were more than enough to make a river with.

She wasn't sure how she blacked out. It was like one minute she was crying her eyes out while her friends were trying to comfort her, and the next everything slowly went black. She almost thought she was still in the woods because she could hear the sound of rushing water, but as she slowly opened her eyes, she saw she was lying on a comfortable couch in a grand room and looking up at a mulit-colored glass work crystal, almost reminding her of a church.

She slowly got up to see the room, seeing the whole room was painted in various shades of light blue and somehow set a calming aura around her, strange symbols painted on the walls that thankfully weren't anything like sinister marks, comfortable furniture set here and there, and a waterfall to her left tumbling down to a stone-littered pool.

"Where am I?" she asked, confused.

"You are in a place that will keep you safe." Flora turned around to see her friends, her mom and Rose, Ms. Faragonda, and Nathalie coming into the room. Nathalie was walking close to a tall, handsome looking man with long, dark hair hanging past his shoulder with wisdom in his eyes.

The girls immediately rushed over to hug their friend, following the boys and her family. When the hugging came to an end, Flora asked again "Where am I and what are all of you doing here?"

"We are here to put an end to all of this."Her mother asked.

One by one, the girls explained to Flora about the dream they all had, their relatives' warning and Luna's vision, and how they called Nathalie and Ms. Faragonda after she blacked out and brought her here.

"Flora, let me introduce you to an old friend of mine," She gestured her hand toward the handsome, dark-haired man standing beside her. "This is Cloud Burst, head and king of the cloud spirits academy."

He bowed low to her like a gentleman, saying "Welcome Flora. This is our mediating room, enchanted with powerful spells to block out any sort of magic. Nathalie has explained to me about what's happening and this so-called Alaric."

"Alaric somehow is able to always know where Flora is. The bond between him and Rosalina is quite powerful." Her mother said.

"Don't worry," Cloud burst gestured his hand toward the symbols engraved on the wall. "These symbols were crafted by the early Cloud sprits, made to protect. No mater what tracking device, strong bond Alaric has with Flora, as long as she is in this room, she will undetectable. No one will be able to come in or out this room."

"No!" Flora exclaimed. "If what Luna says is right, then that means the battle will be happening at the City of Trees. You guys are just wasting your time fighting."

"No, we're not," Bloom insisted. "We're fighting to keep you safe and not to let darkness rule."

"It doesn't matter what you do," With her arms crossed over her chest, Flora walked over to the waterfall, wishing it would calm her like it did earlier. "You guys should be running. Save yourselves!"

"You're losing hope, Flora," Stella said. "Being depressed is only going to make things worse."

"I'm simply saying what is true. Alaric is a powerful discipline and nearly son of the great Devil, stopping at nothing to get what he wants. Libitina is the great queen of evil and destruction, the angel of darkness-"

"Okay, we got it," Musa interrupted. "They're big-time baddies. But in case you forgotten, so were the Trix Witches, Lord Darkar, and Baltor, all big time villains who said universal domination was theirs and ended up getting their butts kicked hard by us."

"Musa is correct, Flora," Tecna said. "We have may lost lots of fights to those villains, but we always were victorious by the end of the big battles. By working together as a team and not giving up."

"We're all going to be fine, Flora," Layla smiled encouragingly. "I promise."

"So, while you're fighting there, what will happen if Alaric gets inside and finds nothing?" She asked.

"Then he will discover a substitute," Tecna turned to face the door and let out a low whistle, as if she was signaling.

Walking into the room with a facial expression no one could quite read was Flora. Or to be more exact, a copy clone of Flora, so real it took Flora's breath away. Helia helped guided Flora's guide in front of the real Flora and Stella got her dressed in a black cloak, pulling the hood over her head.

Smiling a bit smugly, Stella said "If Alaric wants a Flora, then he'll get a Flora."

Flora was lost at words to make a response. Her replica seemed to understand her confusion, cracking a small but warm smile, as if to tell her all will be well.

"It's quite simple, Flora," Her mother said. "You are like the portal to letting Libitina live again and darkness to take over. They need you to do the spell, but if a replica does it at exactly midnight, then nothing will happen. The prophecy won't come true and there will be no return of the dark queen."

"It's very risky, but so far that's the best plan we have." Helia smiled gently at Flora, who was still unconvinced but tried not to show it.

It was soon time to go. It turns out after Flora's birth, her parents immediately inform the council of the City of Trees, which Flora's father's family has been members of for generations. They have had time to prepare for this day, gathering their best fighters and sorceress, and learning everything needed to know about Libitina so they could be prepared. Ms. Faragonda gathered up more troops for their army from close friends who were good in combat and students willing to help out in any way we can.

It was decided by their mother, Rose would be staying with her big sister to keep her company and also because it was far too dangerous for a nine year old to be in this sort of fight. Nathalie led them out, but the girls came back quickly to give her one last hug. They put on brave smiles and hooked their pinkies together; making a promise to stay by each other sides and made a promise to Flora everything will be all right.

Before Helia left, he turned back to Flora and the two lovers said everything needed to be said through their eyes, and pulled her into such a intense and passionate kiss it took her breathe away. It was also frightening her a bit, because the way they were kissing it was like they were saying goodbye.

Finally, Helia pulled back and slowly brushed her hair away from her eyes. Seeing her uncertainty, he smiled gently and said "Don't worry, Flora. I'll do everything in my power to make sure you're safe."

Then he was gone and she was left alone in the protective room with her little sister, who was giving her a hug. Flora responded to the hug and looked down at the birthday jewelry she was wearing.

The friendship bracelet and her lost engagement ring.

Things that might not mean much to the common eye, but were priceless treasure to her.

"Please let them be safe."


	20. Chapter 20

_March 17, 1142_

_News regarding the destruction of Sparks, Zenith, and Eraklyon were scattering, devastating to Luna, Skyler, and Titania. Everyone else tried everything they could to make them feel better, but it was clear nothing was going to cheer the three depressing friends up. They felt saddened, horrible, wishing it was dream while knowing it was really wasn't, and feeling so responsible that they didn't do anything to stop it from happening. _

_Julio understood all this because that's exactly how he felt when he learned his home was destroyed. The realm was mostly a wasteland now, empty of people who were either molded into statues or had their souls sucked from their bodies, only very few were spared and working tirelessly as slaves. _

_His family, his friends, people who watched him grew and people he watched grow were all gone. _

_This has been going on far too much. The pain, the suffering, the bloodshed were all too much for people to fight and bear with anymore. People were watching their love ones die, young children were spared but were slaves working from early day to late night and receiving brutal punishment if something was messed up, misery was surrounding, planets were getting destroyed and people had to watch their realms go up in flames. The pain and suffering has been going on unstopped for the past four years, four years which anyone would say was the four years of absolute hell, and had to be stopped once and for all. _

_Which was why they were going through with their plans for tomorrow. Libitina was the cause of all this and she was going to be stopped one way or another, no matter what it took to bring her down. _

_It was difficult for them moving from place to place with the fear of being discovered by Shadow Demons and brought in, but so far nothing has happened. But what made it really difficult was finding the right hiding place and then another one when it was time to move on. For the past several weeks, they have been hiding out at an abandoned inn at near River's realm, which was desert of people but didn't have too many monsters crawling around. _

_Over a dinner of the stale biscuits and canned beans and vegetables the girls mixed together into a surprising, they discussed plans for the tomorrow, which they hoped was finally going to end everything with the surprise attack they were planning at Libitina's castle with the army they came up with of thousands of brave rebels les and friends wanting to take a stand against the wrong. _

_He really wasn't hungry, so he gave his food to Riven, who immediately ate it without question. He said goodnight to his friends, then escaped to the inn suite he's been staying at since they've been here that was small but still cozy with its' king size bed with a blue plaid quilt, a small fireplace he lit up to warm up the chilling room, and at lease had a bathroom next door he could easily access to. _

_Since he wasn't in the mood for talking and dinner, Julio thought it was best to get to bed early so he could be well-rested for the big day tomorrow. But before he went to bed, he took a hot shower to help soothe his tense muscles, which were only slightly relaxed by the stream of hot water pouring onto his body. When he was done, he came back to his room dressed for bed in an old pair of sweat pants and an old, raggy short-sleeved shirt. _

_He saw the fire was slowly warming up the room, but could still use some more things to burn. He lit up an old notepad he found under his bed and tossed the book into the fire, watching the fire consuming the book slowly and mingling with more flames, making the place quickly warmer. _

_Suddenly, an arctic gush chilled over the room, the temperature dropping dangerously low. Like someone had opened the windows with a horrible snow blizzard happening outside, letting all the cold in. Julio wrapped his arms around himself in an desperate attempt to keep himself warm while stubbornly keeping his head forward without looking back, knowing that was exactly what she wanted. _

_He was aware of her presence without even turning around, because of the deep connection they have-or once had. _

"_What are you doing here?" He was surprised by the sharp snarl in his voice but didn't regret it nevertheless. _

"_Now, is that any way to say hi to me?" Rosalina asked. _

_Taking in a deep breath, he slowly turned his head over to where he heard her voice and soon found her standing against the window, hands placed on the window still, the ruby color of her silk nightgown immediately standing out from his plain white drapes. _

_She smiled at him, but he didn't return the smile. He couldn't understand what she was doing here, and as much he longed to ask why he refused against it, knowing her answer would most likely cause him pain like everything else she had done. _

"_What are you doing here, Rose?" he asked. _

"_I couldn't sleep," she answered. "And then I thought why not visit someone who I haven't seen in such a long time."_

"_Or do you mean, your favorite boy to play with?" He scowled, refusing to back down even when her smile slowly turned into a dark frown. "I'm sorry but I'm not in the mood for it. I'm sure Alaric would love playing round of your affair game."_

"_Don't be like that, Julio."_

"_Don't be like what?" he challenged. "Simply telling you the truth, which I can easily tell is something you don't like hearing. Whatever game you're playing, I'm not in the mood to play," He then slowly closed his eyes and started to count backwards from thirty. "By the time I open my eyes again, I wish to see you gone."_

_When he reached ten, he felt an unusual gush of odd breeze and as he opened his eyes, he saw she took his advice. _

_She was gone. _

_Julio sighed, proud of himself of being strong and not falling for her tricks but at the same time also ashamed with the side of him completely besotted with her that wished she didn't go. He slowly got up from the fireplace and walked over to the open windows Rosalina used to enter into the room, slowly closing them and leaning his head against the cold glass. _

"_Boo!" _

_He jumped back in shock, his hand flying to his mouth to cover up the scream close to escaping through his lips. His heart was soon racing like the speed of light as Rosalina stood in front of him and laid her hand on his chest at the exact spot where his heart was vibrating, smiling at him like they had shared a secret. _

_Julio refused to smile back, preferring to frown instead as he reached for his laser glove, but was frozen in place as he used her free hand to cover his. _

"_Kiss me or kill me, Julio?" A dark twinkle gleam in her emerald eyes as she leaned in closer to him, teasing him with the whiff of her maddening, sweet scent. "Which will be?"_

_She didn't give him time to reply because it was then that she pushed him. It was a push that had a touch as light as feather, but was strong enough to send him knocking down onto the ground, sprawled on his back as she held his arms over his head and straddled his hips. _

_She certainly had become much stronger than he thought. _

_She smirked at his astonished his face, as if she was aware of the thought going through his head, and slowly caressed his cheek, still moving closer to him till their faces were approximately an inch away from each other. "Kiss me or kill me, Julio. Which one will it be?"_

_He sent a strong slap to her right arm, which was enough to make her lost focus as he quickly escaped from her grip and turned her over. She was now the one underneath him with his hand firmly around her neck, looking stunned by the sudden move as she looked up at his cool, unreadable face. _

_He had her right where he wanted her, so now the only thing left to do was to figure out what exactly do to her. He could call the others and they could defeat her instead of carrying on with their plans for tomorrow, use the dagger his father given to him as a gift for protection and told him to use it with no hesitation when he needed it and follow her memo to kill her now. _

_He could have killed her. He should have killed her but…he couldn't. _

_Looking into her emerald eyes, he saw fear and innocence. Pure innocence when you look into the eyes of a young infant so fragile yet delicate. The same innocence a person would never miss as they looked at Rosalina, the real Rosalina who was kind and gentle, loving and full of sunshine, and the same girl he loved with all his being. _

_And still does to this day. _

_He supposed what he was about to do was absolutely everything against of acts he swore he would never commit, but seeing the innocence in her soft eyes, she was no longer the smug Libitina who enjoyed and lived for pain and suffering she was instead his sweet Rosalina, who was gentle and warm and loving._

_By not doing what he should have, he was practically committing a sin but being close to her while trying to control all the longing bubbling inside of them was sneer torment for him. Finally, he couldn't stand it anymore and sealed his damnation with a kiss. A kiss passionate enough to show all the yearning and lust he felt for her, mustering all the untamed, exploding passion into it, and deep enough to show all the longing and love and caring that hasn't gone anywhere despite everything horrible and unthinkable that she had done. _

_He could tell by her frozen lips, Rosalina was first surprised by the sudden kiss, acting like a statue as he poured everything he felt of her through the connection of their lips. Slowly, she took her time, as if she was examining and tasting kisses, and slowly response back. She showed just as much yearning, love and lust, and passion in her kisses as he did with his. _

_Both of them were powerless to pull away from it, pouring more and more of themselves into the kisses. The sweet taste of her mouth, the feel of her lips against his was more than enough to make him dizzy and almost make him go mad. The closer she pressed against him, the more his stomach churned with the thrill and agony of all that has happened between them in the past from what was wonderful and good to what was now complicated and everything but the way things used to be. His tongue traced hers, and she slowly moaned as she used her tongue to brush against his, feeling such strong adrenaline going through her. The fire between them burned brighter, hotter, more powerful and passionate with every new touch, every new exploration. Which happened multiple times before, yet managed to seem brand-new._

_Rosalina encircled her arms around Julio's neck, trying to get close to him even they were already close enough as ever. The kisses deepened, became more passionate than before but the passion held such a strong yearning of desperation. Julio wrapped her legs around his waist and the two continued with their hot kisses at the bed, where Rosalina was lying flat and Julio was straddling her hips and hovered over her. _

_As their kisses deepened and deepened, each one more loving and passionate fired with lust and desperation, slowly the clothes on them were being stripped off and tossed carelessly across the room. Soon Julio was in nothing but his white boxers and Rosalina in her lacy ruby red bra and matching underwear._

_Rosalina moaned as Julio hungrily attacked her neck, making his mark practically all over, then slowly his lips were getting lower and lower down from her jaw line to her chest where he kissed innumerable times the swells of her breasts while undoing the bra front-clasp hook by hook. Her moans became louder, her reaction to his silk tongue tasting every inch of her and running themselves repeatedly around her tits. She gripped tightly onto his hair, feeling strange but indescribably amazing sensations running through her body, unsure if she was strong enough to take anymore of this sneer torture. _

"_Julio," she whispered. He paused with his actions, slowly pulled his head away from her chest, and looked up at her. She smiled as she leaned forward to place another kiss on his lips that was too hungrily to define it as passionate and could only be describe as earth-scattering. "Take me away."_

_She brushed her lips against his once last time before slowly pulling away and caressed his cheek, smiling. Julio looked at that smile and studied it, gazing at the smile for the longest time till he finally got his answer, and then pulled away from Rosalina. Without another glance at her, Julio slowly got out from the bed and dressed himself, only turning back slightly to toss Rosalina her nightgown and a spare bed robe she could wear over it. _

"_Get dressed," was all he had to say to her. He could feel her eyes boring into him sending him cold as ice glares chilled enough to freeze a body with little effect, but still refused to turn around. _

_Rosalina got herself dressed but wanted answers to why happened didn't happen that way she thought it would be. She marched over to him, frown on her face and arms crossed, and got even more irritated when she tapped him on the shoulder and he pushed her hand away while stubbornly keeping his head forward. "Want to explain to me why you stopped? Julio, I wasn't leading you on if that's what-"_

"_That is just it, Libitina!" Julio exploded, his normally low and strong voice ranging high to a near-scream, turning around to face her. "I'm through playing games! You've done this and are still doing it now. Play with me when you're bored with Alaric and then go back to him when you're done with me. My feelings and heart are not a game; I'm not a doll you can toy around with whenever you want. I'm through with these childish games and the girl I love acting a spoiled little girl."_

_She was actually surprised. He always referred to her as Rosalina and never called her by her new name, Libitina. Till tonight at least. But the expression on her face still stayed the same as she glared at Julio, processing all Julio had said to her and finally nodding her head when she got the message. "Anything else you would like to add to that?"_

"_As a matter of fact, yes," Julio leaned in close to her so they were at the direct eye level, the serious expression on his face telling her already he wasn't in the mood for games. "Why are you here?"_

"_I said it was because I was tired and wanted to see you." She answered. _

_A small smile, one reeking with grim bitterness, played with his lips as his head shook from side to side, and the smile dissolved into a frown. "Give me some credit, Libitina. I know a good actress when I see one. Tell me the real reason why you're here."_

_Rosalina frowned, but since the question was starting to bug her so much she decided to answer. She told him how she was informed of their plans to invade her castle and the surprise attack, learning about from Alaric who learned it from her useful pet as she done some snooping for her and how she hoped coming to see Julio would possibly be the cure to change their plans._

"_So you're telling me," Julio said when she was done. "The only reason you actually came here to see me was to seduce me so I could convince my friends not to fight you? You wanted to seduce me to talk me out from fighting?"_

_Rosalina seemed unaffected by his words. She shrugged the words away as if she was told there was a debate going on about a which-is-more-better, her face seeming lost in deep thought. "Depends. Would it have worked?"_

"_Except you forgotten one thing, Rosalina," he waited till her eyes went back to meeting his gaze to continue talking. "I wouldn't let that change anything because you are the enemy and I have no feelings for you anymore."_

"_Really?" Those words got a smirk from her face. "Have no feelings for me at all? If I'm a good actress, then you are a marvelous actor. Because what just happened over there," She nodded her head toward the bed where they were getting hot and heavy not to long ago. "Showed you still cared about me like I do for you." Her smirk was a frown again, as she looked at him and shook her head. "This is why I don't want any of you to fight tomorrow. I told you countless times I'll keep you safe if you stayed out of my way. So consider this your last warning and please choose carefully, because if I see any of you at my castle I will promise you I'll send to the burning depths of hell in a heartbeat moment with no measure at all."_

_He could tell by the firmness in her voice she was serious about her threat. He was aware of her new powers which were stronger than anything he has ever seen before, but also was aware that everything he seen her do was only the opening of the whole act. They would surely die tomorrow if they were to go against her, and he honestly couldn't bear with the idea of hurting her when she had hurt him countless times. But…he stopped to think about all the killings, the destructions, and chaos they seen which haunted them every night in their sleep. _

"_I'm sorry, Rose," he murmured after making his final decision. "But we cannot sit another day of silence and ignorance while you destroy everything in your path. Tomorrow, early dawn, we will do everything in out power to stop you."_

_His words were a sharp as a knife. He was surprised she didn't lung at him then for saying such things, expecting to by hit with lightening bolts or dark blasts. But Rosalina only stood where she was at, looking at him for what felt like nearly an eternity with an unreadable expression on her face till she finally nodded, accepting his challenge. She then slipped something off her finger, opened his left palm, and placed the object there. _

_Julio was appalled to see the engagement he had given her, the same ring he assumed was long gone after hell broke loose, was resting on his palm. He looked up at Rosalina, arching his eyebrow in questioning confusion, and she only shrugged. _

"_What can I say? It's a beautiful ring that meant something to me. A long time ago," she said. "But since you clearly made you choice, I won't be needing it anymore. Take it, sell it, or give it to another girl whom you'll see fitting to wear such a beautiful. Do whatever makes you happy."_

"_Rose-"_

"_Know this, Julio," she warned. "If you expect me to show or feel anything when I fought all of you and destroy you, then you're dead wrong. I'll slaughter each of you one by one, damn you to an eternity of misery inside the Raven power, and only laugh when everything is done."_

_She put on the bed robe, covering up her light nightgown, and tied the belt tightly around her waist. She took one step like she was prepared to leave, but surprised him by coming back to him. She wordlessly encircled her arms around his neck, stood on her tip-toes to lean closer to him, and placed a slow and deep kiss on his lips. The last kiss they'll ever have together. _

_Just as she was about to pull away, Julio tightly grabbed her in a firm grip, pouring everything he had within him into that kiss and getting one last taste. _

"_Goodbye Julio," she brushed her lips against his. _

_There was an unusual breeze, and by the time Julio opened his eyes he was the only one left alone in his room. _

"_Goodbye Rose."_

What was it that made the City of trees so speculator and the attraction to tourists far and near? Was it because it was mostly made out of trees and some towers were hidden in high trees? Although there were no kings or queens at Linphea, members of the council were treated like grand royalty? The head of council was Diana, who was treated as the queen and a powerful nature fairy and the current guardian of Linphea, who was the older sister of Flora's father and Flora's aunt who wouldn't hesitate to do anything possible to help her nieces she loved more than anything.

After checking on Flora to make sure she was okay, the friends returned back to the main tower where they saw members of their army was practicing battle moves and exchanging battle combat moves, chatting to make the situation more lighter than it was already was.

"I'm nervous, you guys," Bloom confessed to her friends.

Sky kissed her gently on the temple while her friends gave her gentle smiles. "Its okay, Bloom," he said. "We're all nervous."

"Yeah," Musa said. "When you think about it, you guys, it's like the last battle Luna, Melody, and the rest of our relatives faced against Libitina."

"We're fighting for the same cause," Tecna added. "And like them, we're not going to stop till Alaric and Libitina are beaten for good."

"There's only one thing I ask from you guys," Helia said. "When the times comes for us to fight Alaric, let him to me. I'm finally going to end this thing between us one way or another."

They decided to call themselves the company of Light, which was a fitting name for them and the same name Bloom's birth parents called themselves when they were against the ancient sinister witches and Baltor. Nathalie was unknown voted as the army's leader with Ms. Faragonda, Ms. Griffin, and Professor Saladin as her seconds in command. They called an assembly to go over their plans for the battle.

The plan was they were going to face Alaric and his army, fight them until it was eleven forty-five and allowing Flora to make her entrance and tell Alaric she would go with him. At the stroke of midnight, Flora will do the spell and nothing will happen. By the time Alaric realizes the mix-up mistake, it will be too late to change anything. The prophecy time will past, Libitina will never be freed again, and Flora won't have to worry about her destiny anymore.

"My lady!" One of the guards on watch called to Diana. "The demon and his army are here."

"It's time, everyone!" Nathalie called. "May the power of the Dragon protect you all."

The girls transformed, the boys brought out their weapons, and the Company of Light moved out to the battlefield where Alaric was at the opposite side, facing them with his army of Shadow Haunt monsters, creatures looking like they were created from the Shadows, and least not certainly not least the Trix witches backing him up. All of them wearing dark, chilling smiles on their faces showing triumph as if they had already won.

"Give me the girl." Alaric said. "And I might think about sparing you."

"Over my dead body will I allow you to take my daughter." Lilac snarled.

"That's never going to happen, Alaric." Helia said.

"So be it then," He shrugged. "Then all of you will be destroyed."

Alaric held out his left hand, and in a flash of bright ice-blue and dark black, his hand morphed into a monstrous steel blue claw that resembled a sword. With a smirk on his face and shaking his head at the opposing army for their ignorance, he turned his and said "Attack."

Rose thankfully came prepare. She brought a box filled with all kinds she and Flora could together, packing more than a dozen board games to card games and other games, her favorite dolls and toys, and her sister's collection of her favorite books. The sisters played Barbie dolls together, all sorts of board games from Candy land to Double Trouble, and had a jump rope contest over a dozen times to see which one could go the faster and was an even tie. Rose was simply doing everything she could to make her sister have fun and help make the situation better for Flora.

But whenever she would look up at her, she would always see Flora tightly gripped onto the beautiful ring charm of her necklace and would have a trouble look in her eyes.

"Are you okay?" Rose would ask.

Flora would then snap put from her trance, quickly smile, and said "Everything is fine, sweetie."

Flora didn't want to spend time thinking of more troubling thoughts, so she distracted by joining in any game Rose wanted to play till Rose was getting sleepy and took a nap on the couch. After covering her sister up with a light blanket, Flora grabbed a book she was currently reading and read it by the waterfall.

The Vampire Diaries was the name of the book, a very popular book series that was also a popular TV show series. Bloom fell in love with both the books and show when she first read and watched it, and soon got the rest of the girls hooked on it, too. Though she mostly preferred the TV shows, Flora still loved reading the book nevertheless.

A beautiful high school senior caught in the middle of a dangerous love triangle between two extremely handsome and different brothers, which went back to centuries. The beautiful high school senior actually was the look-alike twin to the very same girl who started the love triangle between the brothers over a hundred years ago.

Flora was soon frozen in place while she was still on chapter twelve of the first book as the most disturbing thought came to her.

Something she now realized she should have thought of long ago.

Somehow her life became complicated like Elena Gilbert. Because of her prophecy and past life, the story became her actual life.

She was the Elena, the beautiful high school senior who was the haunting image of the woman the boys fell in love with. Helia was the mysterious, brooding Stefan, who was most of the time difficult to figure out. Alaric was the sleek and dangerous Damon, who do anything to get what he wants. And Rosalina/Libitina was the sweetly cold and manipulated Katherine who played to games and girl who started the bitter rivalry between the boys.

It was all too weird and shocking, but it was true. Like Katherine, Rosalina faded everyone with thinking she was a sweet girl when really she was evil and loved playing with the hearts of two boys who loved and wanted her. Alaric was in every way alike like book Damon with his coldness and just as complicated as TV Damon being obsessed with a woman he knew was playing him and was never his to begin with. Helia/Julio and Alaric hated each other as much as Stefan and Damon, and the main breaking point of their hatred were the girl they both loved and blaming one another for what happened to her at the end.

There were a few differences though. Helia/Julio and Alaric may hate each other more than anything but thankfully were not brothers. Unlike Elena who was only the descendant of Katherine, Flora was really the actual reincarnation of Libitina. Also the only one of them who was actually immortal was Alaric while Helia and Flora were still alive and Rosalina was now a spirit trapped inside Flora.

Flora shook her head to be rid of the odd thought, but it still stayed inside her head.

She could almost see it now.

Brooding and mysterious Helia guarded and on high-alert around Alaric who only smirked at him, not all trusting him one bit. The two young men stopping dead in their tracks as a beautiful light brunette-haired girl walked over their way, a satisfied smirk on her face when she had their attention. The only thought coming to Rosalina's mind was how much fun she was going to have playing with them.

Flora snapped from thoughts as a loud ding thundered from the clock adorned on the wall and hanging over the door.

According to the clock, it was now eleven-thirty. Thirty more minutes till midnight, the time she would officially be eighteen and the destiny time for the prophecy to be fulfilled.

Right now her best friends and their army of revel fighters were at the Linphea, at the city of Trees where the most dangerous battle was going to take place.

A battle her friends, her mother and aunt, headmistress and other brave people are going to be a part of.

She fidgeted with the charms of the friendship bracelet Stella gave her, the faces of each of her friends popping into her head.

_They're going to be alright_, she reminded her once again to stop worrying. _Alaric will believe the clone is me; he'll take her back with him, and have her do the spell._

By the time he realizes his mistake, the prophecy time will pass. Libitina will never have another chance of being released, there will be no return of the dark angel, and everything will be okay.

"Everything will okay. Everything will be okay." After repeating this to herself one more time, Flora took in a deep breath and let it out in a sigh, and then returned to reading her book.

_Now you don't really believe that, do you, puppet?_

Her book slipped from her hands, making a loud thump sound as it hit the floor. Flora was in a paralyze state, looking down at the fallen book and trying to remember how to breathe.

"Don't be rude, puppet. At least look up!"

Slowly counting backwards from ten, Flora slowly took in her breath and lifted her head up. Her heart flew to her throat, making breathing a problem.

Smiling at her shocked reaction was Rosalina as she stepped out from the shadows by the left corner, dressed in the exact same outfit as Flora and even had her hair in loose pigtails, and wore a pleasant smile on her face as she walked over.

"What's the matter, sweetie? Cat got your tongue?"

_OH MY GOSH_ was what Flora wished she could say, but her throat was bone-dry and no words were coming out from her mouth. It was hard for her to remind herself to inhale and exhale with Rosalina standing right across from her, smiling. She shouldn't be here. It was impossible for her to be here when she was trapped inside.

Or was she?

Flora was taking in and out shallow breathes, gripping tightly onto her head and felt like everything was once again spinning wildly around her as the truth slammed into her. "It's happening. It really happened. _I've gone mad!_"

Rosalina chuckled under her breath, obviously amused seeing Flora hallucinating as if it were a grand show. "As much as I would love to make you believe you're going insane, I unfortunately have to be the one to tell you, you haven't lost your mind."

"Then how-" Flora was silenced by the sharpness in Rosalina's cold eyes and the malicious in her dark smile.

"It's the night of the prophecy, the night when the Midnight Raven and I became one. Thanks to this night, the power is growing more powerful and stronger with each passing second. I may not have enough power to free myself from you, but do have more than enough to create my own clone so we can have a conversation outside our dreams."

"Well I don't want you here!"

"Tough," Rosalina replied with her signature smile dark enough to be sick but sweet enough to pass as innocent. "As I said countless times before, Flora, whether you like it or not, we are one and the same. You are my reincarnation, born with my spirit, were born in the first place because of a spell I did, and we're more alike than you can possibly imagine."

Soon the smile on Rosalina's face was wiped off in an instant when she noticed the beautiful ornament hanging around Flora's neck. For the first time, she actually looked speechless.

Flora looked to see what got Rosalina all shock and immediately gripped it with her left hand, as if to protect it from whatever damage Rosalina had in mind.

The engagement ring Julio proposed to her with right hundred and seventy-two years ago, the same ring she gave back to him that he hid and Helia gave her for her birthday. Rosalina given the ring back to Julio after trying and failing to convince him not to fight tomorrow, not wanting to have any reminders tracing back to him and saying he should give to another girl whom he'll find suitable to wear it. Julio hid it inside one of the oak in the forest where they first met, where the ring has been there for centuries until Helia found it recently and gave it to Flora.

The shock in her eyes hardened to hatred and anger, and a scowl appeared on her lips. "Well, well, well. Isn't that just the prettiest thing you ever saw? Take it off!"

"Never!" Flora exclaimed.

"I said take it off!" She repeated.

"And I said, never going to happen!" Flora snapped.

This time Libitina didn't waste another breath on her reincarnate. She winded her arm around like she was about to pitch a hard ball, and then released a powerful bolt of black lightening from her open palm.

Flora protected herself from the attack by using the power of nature to turn the lightening into a shower of rose petals falling into the ground, and then, using the energy from the Midnight Raven, conquered up a powerful flaming death orb she sent hurling toward Rosalina, who was surprised by the move and was thrown against the wall.

"You're improving, Flora," Rosalina commented with her eyes closed shut. "Only take this bit of advice. A student should never try to outdo the master."

Flora didn't react quickly enough. One second she was trying to figure out what Rosalina was up to, and the next she was being lifted high into the air and was hurled across the room, slamming hard against the stone wall.

"Argh!" it hurt for her to move, but she forced herself to get up.

"I could _and_ should just destroy you right where you're standing, but I need you so I suggest you consider yourself lucky." Rosalina smiled.

"What do you want?" Flora asked.

"Simple, sweetie," Rosalina answered. "I just wanna talk."

The company was using everything they had and learn as they fought. They were trying to pull through, but the fight was proving to be much tougher than they thought it would be.

The Shadow Haunt monsters were already hard enough to take on with the new power boost Alaric given them, but it was ten times harder beating the Shadow beings. They seem frail and appeared transparent like ghosts, but it was impossible to destroy them. An energy blast or over a dozen swing swords, the monster would only crumble into the dust and then half a dozen stronger ones would grow in its' place.

It also didn't help that the witches were now more powerful than ever now that their powers were strengthened with some energy from the Midnight Raven, which was hundreds of times stronger than Lord Darkar's gloomix powered-charms. Icy's ice powerful was more thicker and was hold for someone to break out from when they were trapped inside an ice block, their energy and strength draining and being transferred to her. Darcy was able to control some of the shadows, making them wide and entangling anyone in her dark tangled web. And Stormy made lightening bolts fiercer than ever and as grand as the wide sea.

Alaric and Helia were fighting each other but Alaric decided to make things interesting by providing Helia with a fine, elegant sword to fight with instead of his laser glove. Otherwise, it would then be an easy fight and easy fights were a bore to him.

Helia gripped tightly onto the handle of the sword, feeling a rather strange feeling of remembrance but accepted it regardless. In his lifetime as Julio, the only thing his father did to show any sort of affection for him, was teaching him fencing and the swordsmanship at the tender age of six, becoming a master of it as the years went by. He proven to be very elegant and excellent in the sport, moving elegantly and graceful as a dancer with a sword in his hand.

It really was going to be an interesting fight.

He cut through the air as he did a practice swing, and then positioned himself properly. "This is it, Alaric. This is where it ends."

"For once, dim-wit, I actually agree with you." Alaric smirked.

"You are aware only of us is going to survive this fight when it's over."

"I know and I only have one thing to say to you. It was a huge pleasure killing you."

With that being said, Alaric lunged at and the two began to fight.

Rosalina showed Flora everything that was happened back at the battle with the water's reflection in the waterfall pool, and Flora was shocked by what she saw.

Alaric's army was getting a huge advantage in the fight, overpowering the company of light. Tecna and Musa were knocked right out from the sky, crashing hard against the hard floor when Stormy hit them with a huge lightening shock. Stella and Layla, along with the rest of the boys, were entangled by the dark wed Darcy was creating.

Flora watched in horror as her aunt, Diana, was stuck in the jaw by a Shadow Demon. Two of each monster grabbed her, Flora's mother, and Nathalie by the arms and legs, smirking at their struggle, and tossing them across the other side of the room.

Bloom was trying to hit Icy with one of the fireballs she was hurling, but the ice witch obviously had the better advantage of the fight. Icy dodged every Bloom thrown her way, and struck the fire fairy with a sharp ice crystal.

As for Helia and Alaric, both of them were evenly matched in the sword fight, taking swings at one another, and blocking the swings with their swords. The two men, one whose face showed hatred while another showed smugness, were fighting viciously with everything they had as they swords (or Alaric's claw) flashed and darted like tongues of fire. It appeared to be a deadly fight.

Helia doubled his efforts, lunging, parrying, then driving ahead again. The tip of his sword seemed to twine around the blue steel of Alaric's claw.

Alaric's claw was reaching toward his chest when Helia parried it aside and followed in with a thrust of his own.

Once more, with what seemed like a careless movement of his wrist, although fast as lightening, Alaric turned the thrust aside. The hilts of their weapons came together with a clash and the two men were close together for a moment, their arms staining hard. Helia snarled as he scowled while Alaric winked with his smirk, as they leaped back.

"You're a good sword's man, Julio," Alaric commented. "But I'm afraid not well enough to beat me."

"A lot of talk and no action is what you're really are, Alaric," Helia said. "I'm going to use everything I know to beat you. I will have revenge for Flora and Rosalina."

"I plan to pay you back for what you've done to, Libitina," Alaric's smirk then changed into a frown. "You claim that you love her, but you used a poisoned dagger to kill her. Is that what you call doing something for the one you love?"

"I did it to save her!" Helia's words came in a soft murmur, but were packed with screaming anger.

"And what may I ask were you trying to save her from?" Alaric arched his left eyebrow.

"From herself!" He exploded. "It killed me to put that dagger through her heart, but I still had to do it. I killed her not only to save what was left of the universe, but to save her from the monster she had become."

Alaric stared at the young pacifist, baffled, and then shook his head. "This is exactly when she became the dark angel and decided to have some fun with me. You and your friends were blind not to see the great potential she had, and saw her as nothing but a little girl who was in constant need of your useless protection. I wonder if that's what Flora was thinking when she and I shared that marvelous, _deep_ and _long_ kiss. I wonder if she's still as good in the bed when she was Libitina."

That did it.

With a cry of anger, Helia kicked Alaric as hard as he could in his chest, also hurting his foot, and tried to aim his sword at Alaric's shoulder. But Alaric was fast and strong, able to within stand the blow and dodge the swing.

The tip of his sword went under Alaric's swords and then in a continuous movement thrust straight at Alaric's chest.

It was fast and well done; Helia was sure of it. But something happened. Alaric's wrist rolled and twisted. His claw engaged Helia's weapon and seemed to twine around it.

The next instant, Helia was standing unarmed as his sword skidded across the planks of the deck. He growled at Alaric's smirking face.

"This was so much fun. Dim-wit, it has been a true honor fighting you. It was much fun." Alaric bowed low.

And then as he got up, in one movement swift as lightening, Alaric sliced upwards from Helia's elbow up to his shoulder blade, than used his claw to slice across his the top of his chest.

A ringing roared through Flora's ears. She felt a scream, ear-scattering loud and screaming bloody-murder, stick in the roof of her mouth.

Helia groaned, clutching onto his arm and falling onto his knees like a supplicant in front of Alaric, bringing him even lower as his steel-toed shoe slammed itself against Helia's chest, breaking two of his ribs.

After that, the reflection went away. Rosalina only shook her head at what she saw and then turned to look at Flora, who had her mouth covered with both hands, hot tears spilling like an actual waterfall from her eyes and spilling into the pool.

"You do realize that's only the opening show," Rosalina said. "By the time we get to the finale, everyone you care about will be dead."

"Don't hurt them!" Flora begged.

"I'm not the only hurting them, Flora. You are."

Flora soon was sobbing, heavy sobs that had her whole body shaking. Rosalina took one look at the sobbing girl and did something she hasn't done in the longest time: comfort another. She brought the crying girl into her arms, enveloped her in a soothing hug, and slowly stroked her hair.

"You know what you must do, Flora." She said gently.

"But, Rosalina, I don't want to. I'm not the same girl who did all those things a long time ago."

"You know what you must do."

Alaric and his army combined all their powers into one combined burst of negative energy, blasting everyone on the good army and then trapped them all into the shadows, slowly squeezing the life out of them.

"That's enough!"

Everyone all watched as Flora used her fairy wings to fly down from the high tower, landing in front of Alaric, and looking at him with hatred-filled, cold eyes.

"You win, Alaric. I'll go with you, but leave them alone."

Alaric smiled at her and did as she wished, freeing them all from the Shadow bound. He took one step in front of her and caressed her cheek, smiling as she silently glared at him. "Before we leave my dear, there's one thing I have to ask you. And this is a question all of you are free to answer."

Leaning in close to her, he said "How stupid do you think I am?"

In one swift movement, Alaric plunged his claw right through Flora's stomach, smirking as her eyes showed fear and became blank, enjoying all the shock looks and gasps all around him. As he slowly withdrew his sword, blood was gushing from the huge wound of her stomach and with a soft gasp she fell to the ground.

"Have you gone insane, demon?" Lilac yelled through her heart-wrenching, scattering tears. Everyone else around her was too shocked by what they had just seen. "First my husband, then my daughter! How much more can you possible take from me?"

"Is this how you treat your so-called true love?" Nathalie barked angrily. "You want her so badly, that you kill her that no one else can have her?"

See, most people would get tried from getting shocked reactions from people if they always get it, but not him. Seeing the stun looks in their faces and shock in their eyes was like opening the gift packages underneath the Christmas tree, grinning to see wonderful gifts inside. He loved getting his Christmas presents.

Ignoring Nathalie as always, Alaric took one last look at the girl lying and slowly dying in front of him, feeling so bad such a beauty has to die so tragically. He turned to Lilac with that vicious smirk still on his face, chuckling under his breath. "Dear, dear Lilac. You truly are such a beautiful woman. Yet for someone so beautiful, you're also so…incredibly naïve. You do realize, silly woman, there is really no more use for your tears."

"You're a sick bastard, you know that!" Musa yelled.

"On the contrary, my dear, for you see I'm simply acting like a man who discovered your little charade," Alaric shrugged. "But if you really want something a sick bastard, then please observe."

He brought his bloody claw close to his lips and wordlessly ran his long tongue right across it to the very tip end, wiping the mess clean while making everyone-including the Trix-witches feel like they were about to hurl. He made them feel much sicker to his stomach as he licked his lips, which were stained with the clone's blood, doing slowly just to torment them and was sighing in pleasure as he licked the last drop, smiling evilly at their disgusted faces.

"I'm think I'm going to sick," Stella murmured to Brandon, who nodded back, trying everything she could to keep from gagging up all the food she ate today on the ground.

"I'm right there with you," Tecna replied.

"Tell me, pixies, have you ever tasted blood before?" Alaric asked with a dark gleam sparking alive in his dark eyes. "Because really tasting one as delicious as your beautiful friend's copy's is like having a cup of the finest wine ever made. Making everything else taste so dull and boring and makes you wanna have more."

"You have to be the most despise, disgusting, sickening excuse of a magical being to ever walk this very dimension!" Lilac yelled, her venomous words cold and deadly, allowing all her hatred and anger be known.

He simply took the comment as a great compliment and bowed low before her, saying "With pride, I thank you very much."

He figured it out. They weren't sure how but he definitely figured it out Flora wasn't the real Flora. Otherwise he wouldn't have stabbed her carelessly through the stomach like he did.

"How?" It was difficult for Helia to speak without wincing in pain or groaning. He was cut off as he felt an agonizing painfully throbbing shooting through his arm.

"Come now, Julio," After stealing another glance at the copy, who was long dead with crimson blood flowing from her gaspingly big wound and managed to look so beautiful, Alaric walked over to Helia. "I must say I'm hurt you people aren't aware of my intellect. May I remind you that over the past eight centuries since Libitna's death and before I met Flora, I also came across _four_-four descendants who bare such a strong resemblance to your friend that people would think one of them could easily be her. A weak-mind would assume just by comparing their identical appearance, one of them would be her. But a strong, sharp mind like mine can easily tell a copy from an original. Such a terrible shame I can't say the same for you."

A scream howled from Helia's mouth as a powerful foot strong and hard like steel was slammed against his stomach, cracking one or two of his ribs and causing him to cough up blood.

"Really is such a shame a dim-wit like you can't tell the difference between a copy and an original." Alaric said, kicking him even harder-this time on his bad arm, making the bleeding and pain ten times worse than before.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Timmy yelled, defending his friend.

"Fine then. I'm simply deal with all of you at once!" Stretching out his left hand, black thread-like tentacles shot from his palm, entangling around all of them in an inescapable bound. Shocking them like a thousand-watt lightening bolt was running right through them and sucking the energy out of all of them.

Watching some bit their lip to muffle their screams while most let theirs out a in loud blast, hearing and watching them struggle to break free, made his smirk change into a big, evil grin. "Struggle all you want, but I'm afraid struggling only makes it worse," He powered up another lightening ball in his hand he was dying to use. "But don't worry, petties. Because this is not going to hurt a bit."

"You wanna bet!"

In an instant heartbeat as Alaric turned his head slightly, he was immediately sent crashing and craning roughly through the ground as he received a surprisingly strong blow to the face by several branches sprouting from the nearby trees.

The gang and everyone else was finally able to stand on their own two feet, after struggling with their pain and were in shocked when they saw Flora standing right in front of them.

The real Flora.

She was standing on the borderline separating the two armies, ignoring all the looks she was receiving from both sides. She powered herself down from Enchantix form to her regular self. Wordlessly she closed her eyes and stood still, as the streaks of shadows came together with her own shadow underneath her feet and wrapped themselves around her ankles, growing more and getting higher as they entangled her entire body, reaching up to the crown of her head. Covering her up like a black sheet sticking onto her skin.

Finally, the shadows decreased and what was remaining was a black cloak they formed for her, fitting her perfectly like a glove. Flora looked straight ahead, her eyes unfocused as she pulled down her hood.

"Flora, what the hell are you doing here?" Layla said.

"Child, you shouldn't be here!"

"Go and hide!"

She finally turned around to face her friends, Helia, her mother, and everyone was fighting for her. People she knew and cared about. She kept her face an expressionless mask, eyes flat of any emotion whatsoever, and said in a flat voice, "No more running away. I'm going to end this once and for all."

Turning back to Alaric, who was up to his elbows as he lay on the ground, looking at him for the longest minute which felt like a slow, long eternity. Looking into his deep midnight eyes while he gazed into emerald greens freed of any emotion and cool that reminded him so much of Libitina's hardened glare. The two stared into one another's eyes for what felt like an eternity, one not showing what she was feeling or thinking on the inside while another was trying to read her thoughts. Flora then broke the long silence, saying five words that was shocking too anyone within a ten feet hearing range.

"I will go with you."

"Flora, no!" Her mother said.

"This is crazy and completely illogical!" Tecna protested.

She faced them, throwing another cool and expressionless glare. "I can't keep running from my destiny any longer."

"No!"

"You're taking crazy!"

"Please! Don't do this."

She wasn't surprised this was going to be there reactions, and there was a part of her that wished she could take their advice. But a bigger, stronger part reminded her trying to resist what's meant to happen is only going to put them in more danger.

Time was running out and she couldn't stand any minute arguing with them on the issue any longer.

She balled up her hands, brought them to her lips, and blew kisses at them as she opened her palms, releasing thousands and thousands of blossomed red poppies surrounding all of them and releasing a powerful whiff of chloroform. Quickly one by one, their eyes were closed and they fell to the ground, unconscious, including the Trix witches who had to be carried by the Shadow demons. She watched them as they each fell to the ground, used her telekinesis from the energy of her dark powers and shifted them into a more comfortable position, and lastly used the fairy dust to heal them.

Helia mostly needed the fairy dust out of them all. She poured more than half of fairy dust vial into his body and his, watching the bruises slowly heal themselves. She squatted in front of him, wiped the blood dripping off his lips, and kissed him one last time. Gently yet deeply, lovingly and soft, letting her lips linger there for the longest time. Trying to remember every wonderful detail and make it last, having a good feeling this could be the last kiss between them.

"I love you," She was nearly on the verge of tears after quickly kissing him once last time and brushing his lips against her, but could tell Alaric was watching and wasn't going give him satisfaction by showing her emotions.

She looked at all them as they were in their unconscious while the flowers kept on puffing whiffs of the knock-out scent, her eyes skipping from face to face and seeing how they all looked so peaceful and at ease. She raised her hands and did a protection spell for them, using forging tongue, and also did a special one for her friends that required her chanting it in a Latin foreign, tongue language and channeling some energy from the Midnight Raven. She watched as streams of blackness escaped her hands, washing over her friends and sticking on them like thick syrupy, spreading till it covered their bodies and slowly all the blackness sank deep into their hearts, sinking deeply through their skin and pulsing within their bodies.

"Goodbye and please be safe." She turned to Alaric, not at all surprised he was the only person unaffected by the flowers and seeing he was standing behind her. She knew he was waiting for her to ay something or to give him a reaction, but she refused to do so. Instead, she simply pulled the hood over her head and said, "Let's go."

He still looked slightly surprised by her words, but regardless still obeyed her wishes. He said nothing as he took her hand without struggles or protests and they all kept walking and walking, Alaric and Flora hand-hand leading their army through the shadows, all of them soon disappearing after they blended in with the shadows.


	21. Chapter 21

Alaric wasn't sure what to exactly make of her attitude.

She hasn't said a single word since they left Linphea, hasn't done anything really but walk beside his side but keep distance between them with an unreadable expression on her face and her eyes freed of any emotions.

Was he walking into some sort of trap? Was everything she did nothing but an act? If so, then he must say the performance was something that was not only unbelievably realistic, but also something reminding him yet again how she's so much like Libitina.

But nevertheless, he was disappointed. Whether or not she was putting on a performance, it was still smart to realize running or hiding away from what destiny proclaims was downright impossible to do.

But, on the other hand, if this wasn't an act, then he still wondered what it was that made her change her mind.

They had finally made their destination, which was the very heart of the Dark Dimension, where darkness was eternally and daytime was close to as nonexistence. After Rosalina became Libitina and gotten what she wanted, she wanted a private kingdom and castle on her own. She chose the dark dimension, picking the right lone planet and location to build her empire, and he spent countless days to weeks to months working nonstop with zero delay on making her a castle enough but beautiful, powerful with the enchantments of dark and protection spells, and would be absolute perfection.

The castle reminded Flora of the dark hideouts villains from the fairy tales her mother read her at night when she was young. The setting dark and dead and at a gloom and dark-looking forest that was too sad to look at, a thick fog hazing up the airspace and was hard to see exactly where you're opposed to be going, till you're in front of the tall black ivory gates adorned with twisted, sharp vines. The whole building looked old but seemed ageless in a way, luxurious like a mansion but twenty times grander than a palace. Tall towers wide in length and tall enough to reach the skies and huge mansion palaces were all connected to the grand castle that was about ten times the size of Sunnyvilla Paradise hotel with doubtless had close to millions of rooms inside, hundreds of secret passageways leading to even more rooms, and tunnels leading to underground. Not only that but behind was a beautiful courtyard in the back with a fountain that was probably the oldest-looking thing in the whole place, a bridge way over a musky-looking but deep waters.

Flora took a look around the estates as memories she hasn't had before were flooding to her mind, until finally the last dip of memory was restored and she remembered absolutely everything. Every detail of her old past life. She was remembered how happy she was when Alaric revealed her new home, thinking it was all so perfect. Remembering her and Alaric holding hands as they took a walk in the back, sometimes kissing. Remembering walking through her favorite rooms, prisoners being brought into the dungeon to await their brutal punishment, the beautiful rosebushes she planted of black full-blossom roses able to seduce someone with its' beauty to come closer but were deadly to the touch.

She saw the roses, in over a hundred, were still there, the only plant actually alive in this place. Full-blossom, their scent so fresh and sweeter than any flowers she ever smelled before. Their beauty was great; she almost wished she could touch the velvet-looking petal. She knew better than to do such a thing like that, recalling if one were to ever do such a thing than that person would be dead in an instant.

"I see a dark beauty has attracted the attention of another beauty," Alaric said when he noticed her eyes lingering on her prized flowers, sneaking behind her. "They were your favorite flowers and I had more of you while you were gone."

_It's a shame they weren't beautiful and tempting you into touching one of their petals, then all out problems would have been cured_, Flora wished she could say to his face but said nothing as she only thought it in her head.

When she made no reply, Alaric watched her for a moment before shaking his head with a sigh and a hard. He dismissed more than a quarter of his army, telling them to guard every inch of the estate and kill anything that as so much as move. The rest that were remaining, which were less than twelve, and the witches were awake but still woozy from the flower affect followed him and Flora underground.

_You mustn't give up!" Sky tried to see the person, but his vision was blackened. So black, he thought he had almost gone blind. He soon realized he wasn't as he turned around and saw his girlfriend, Bloom, and all his friends were here with him. ___

_"Bloom!" He ran forward to her and she jumped into his arms, squeezing onto him tightly as he spun them around. ___

_"Where are we?" Helia asked as he looked around the place they were at. It seemed like a room bigger with endless space, dark as night and was so freezing with the temperature dropping colder and colder by the second he was already shivering. ___

_"Are we died?" Timmy asked, already on the verge of panicking. "We are, aren't we? Oh dear Lord, we are died! I'm too young to die; there are so many things in life I haven't been able to do. I'll never meet my grandkid, I'll never meet Madonna, I'll never win the annual tech-club championship-"___

_"Timmy, if you don't shut your mouth in the next ten seconds, I will not be held responsibly for whatever my fists do to your face," Friend or not, Riven would still kick his ass either way if Timmy wasn't going to zip it. ___

_"And we're not dead," Musa added. Feeling the incredible coldness of the pitch-dark room reminded the girls of their last dream and knew exactly who they are. _

_The girls traded a look with one another, having a silent conversation through their eyes. Finally Bloom, receiving the message they were delivering, pulled away from Sky's embrace and took a few steps forward as she took in slow, deep breathes. _

"_Luna," She said, so quietly yet so loud to echo loudly throughout the walls. "If you are here, along with the rest of your friends, then…please give us a sign."_

_Ignoring the odd looks the boys were giving them, the girls kept their eyes out open for anything, replying on their magic to achieve when they sense something. _

_For awhile nothing happened. The room was getting colder and colder by the second, even though it was already unbelievably freezing cold, and becoming so black they could barely see their own hands anymore. The silence seemed to go on for nearly forever till finally, saying in a timid yet ragged voice that was somehow so identical to Bloom's, a sound was able to slice through it like a sharp knife._

"_Tongue of the dragon."_

_They could feel a person was near them sucking in their breath, unable to see her through the thick darkness. As she slowly let out her, the cool air freezing them to the bones was quickly roasting up to more-hotter-than warm heat. She released a powerful stream of red flames dancing upon the ceiling with the sleek grace of a snake as they lit up torches they didn't even realize was there, shedding some light on the darkness. _

_A group of eleven people, clad in black cloaks that matched the background of the room with the hood pulled over their heads, were standing in front of them with small smiles playing on their faces. _

_One by one, the figures slowly pulled down their hoods to reveal themselves and having everyone else gasping in shock. _

_As soon as the black-clad figure would reveal themselves, the person in front of them would gasp out loud from shock, feeling like they were meeting their long-lost twin for the very first time. _

_Or looking right at their own reflection in the mirror. _

_With the exception of Helia, shock was written all over the boys' faces. Even though the girls have met them before, it was still shocking. _

_Luna, Chelsea, Melody, Titania, and Lauren seemed please to see the girls. And also brought guests to their gathering. Skyler, Brad, River, Timothy, and Simba were also there as well, the past meeting the present. _

"_Oh my…"_

"_I can't believe it."_

"_This is way too weird."_

"_Now I know I really lost my mind."_

"_This can't be real."_

"_Oh, believe me, Nabu," Simba smiled warmly. "This is as real as it's going to get."_

"_Even though this is a dream, but who's really paying attention to that part anyway?" Timothy tried to make the situation better by throwing in a small joke. _

_Helia gazed at the faces of his old friends, who sacrificed so much over eight hundred years ago and were the relatives of his current friends, smiling at them all with tears in moisturizing his eyes a bit as memories of better time were rushing to his head. "It's amazing to see all of you again."_

"_It's also good to see you again, Julio." Titania smiled. _

"_As much as I would love to get warm introductions and welcomes started, I'm afraid we don't have a lot of time to waste." River stated. _

"_River's right," Brad said. "There's much still needed to be said and done."_

"_For what?" Layla asked. _

"_The day of the prophecy." The past descendants all said in unison. _

_They remembered what happened to them, recalling that same person who knocked them out wasn't here with them._

"_Flora!" they realized. She knocked them out with those weird flowers and took off with Alaric and those demon goons. _

"_We have to stop her!" Helia said. _

"_And how exactly are we going to do that when we're unconscious, trapped in a dream that's supposedly like the heart of the Midnight Raven where souls are collected and we're here talking to our dead, past relatives?" Riven said. _

"_We're going to be too late." Tecna murmured. _

_The commotion was put to a halt as Luna broke into a fit of wheezing, nasty, harsh-sounding coughing and sounding like she was in so much pain. It was amazing how doing a simple spell like the one she had done just now was could actually have this kind of effect on her; taken so much out of her when really there was nothing really left to take. She would collapse with her head facedown if Chelsea and Lauren weren't holding onto her and keeping her steady. She was so tired and weak, her body was aching from the exhaustion and eyes begging for a rest, but she fought against them with everything that was left in her. _

_As her coughing seized, it took her a full minute to collect her breath. She raised her head and looked at them, her eyes showing anything but weakness. Showing strong determination, strength, and fierceness that were the same as the fierce dragon. When she turned to her present descendant, she locked her fierce eyes with hers and said an important message to them all, "You mustn't give up. You cannot and will not give up. You must never admit defeat when your opponent has the upper hand. There is still enough time to stop the destiny and save your friend."_

"_But-" Stella began to say; only to get cut off by Chelsea's sharp tone that was delivered with a gentle smile. _

"_But nothing, doll. There is nothing impossible you can't do."_

"_Take it from us, you guys," Lauren smiled encouragingly. "Impossible is only a word that may seem scary and unbelievable but it's also something you can overcome."_

"_Once our commutation with you comes to an abort, you must go to Libitina's castle at the dark dimension, beyond the wide volcano mountains and gloomy, depressing forests. Once you are underground, you must make sure you go you kept heading to the ways with the sinister mark engraved on it which will lead you straight to the altar. The place where the spell will be performed." Titania instructed. _

"_Fight bravely with everything you have, for there will be Shadow Demons will be covering every inch of the castle." Melody added. _

"_But be swift," Skyler warned. "There is still time left, but time is not on our side."_

"_We all believe in you!" They said in unison. Without being said, they placed back on their hoods and slipped away into the darkness. Luna was close to vanishing along with them, till she stopped at the very moment and told them something she thought could be useful information to them. _

"_Libitina is evil and cold. A witch who has done so many terrible things and unforgivable things that are more horrible than you can ever imagine. But…somewhere buried deep inside is the Rosalina we remember as out friend. She may be cold and heartless, but…she can be redeemable."_

A powerful jolt kicked inside of them and had them awakened in an instant, panting hard.

"That was…insane." Riven said between breaths.

"Tell me about it." Timmy commented.

"We needed to find Flora and stop her."

"Except it's going to be hard," Timmy panted. "We know where she is, but it's going to forever to get there. Not to mention, even longer to get through our way of fighting over a thousand demon armies." He checked his watch and was shocked by the time. "We barely have seven minutes to spare."

"Fuck that!" Everyone nearly jumped in surprise from Bloom's harsh, sharp tone. "We still have to try, guys, and we're going to try." Bloom told them with the same determination and strength firing in Luna's eyes now blazing in her own cyan blues.

"This could not have gone better!" Icy said with a smirk, as she and her sisters followed the creatures and Alaric and flower pixie to wherever they were going.

"I know, right," Stormy agreed. "As soon as the flower pixie does the spell, it's nothing but ultimate domination and darkness forever."

"I honestly can't tell which is better?" Darcy said. "The fact our dream of total domination and darkness in close to coming true or we actually get the opportunity to meet one of the most dangerous, evilest legendary witch to ever live."

"Both are just so good, it's impossible to choose." Icy said.

"Do you think Libitina will give me an autograph?" Stormy asked.

Icy and Darcy traded an amused look with one another and snickered. Ordinarily, Stormy would have bolted them with lightening in a second, but she was too blinded by the excitement to even bother about that.

Exactly forty steps ahead of them, tension was high and thick between Alaric and Flora. So thick a person would need the sharpest knife to cut it, but it still wouldn't make a difference either way. Flora was lost in her own world of thoughts as she walked beside Alaric, hiding her face with her hood and refused to acknowledge him. Alaric with right by her side, wishing she would at least do something before he goes out of his mind. If silence was what she wanted, then silence was what she was going to get.

He took out a joint from his breast pocket and lit it up with his lighter, inhaling deeply and feeling all the smoke filling in his lungs, then in a breath he released a huge cloud of marijuana smoke. "Everything is set and ready."

Like expected, she didn't make a reply but Flora did surprise herself as she stole a glance under her hood to take a look at him for a moment, before finally speaking.

"Did it ever occur to you that in this lifetime, what happened and what I was in the past was something I didn't wish for? Did it ever occur to you I never wanted back my power?"

Alaric shrugged, infuriating her already, and said, "I devoted my life to serving you and only you. Everything that you worked hard for was immediately taken away from you when your so-called former love stabbed you. You told me before the battle started; you have one more thing you wanted me to do as a special wish for you. To find you again if you were gone and help restore your legacy in any way I could. Everything I did, I did for you."

Alaric was one of the most complicated people she has ever met before. He was someone who seemed hot and cold, evil and heartless one minute, yet warm and gentle the next.

Flora looked at him and tried to figure out what was exactly so….complex about him.

Pale blonde curly hair above his ears, pale skin almost transparent but smooth as cream, shimmering from the light coming from the lit torches along the way, a face that was unimaginable attractive that the word handsome couldn't do it justice and paired with eyes dark as midnight and could easily hypothesis, and a tight and lean body completed with a muscular figure easily shown through his black suit. He was beautiful, breathtaking and undeniably, something that would immediately stick out in the crowd and people would take note of instantly.

A man with the extreme yet seemingly innocence beauty of an angel, wits sharp and twisted as a charmed serpent, and heart so cold and dark there was nothing even considered to be as so much as good inside.

His parents were loyal servants to the king of darkness, who saw him as loyal ally and forced for him to grow up. His childhood was stolen away from him when he was forced to grow up, then was taught for centuries the beauty of being evil and seeing others suffering pain was a true joyous thing. He was taught to show no emotions expect for coldness, spare no one when accoutered. His parents were members of the sinister seven who helped create the Midnight Raven, ending up being murdered by the very thing they help create; elder sister who was a personal whore to the Devil, being one of his many mistresses and allowing him to play around with her like a doll whenever he wanted; his two younger brothers now followers learning in the Devil's way.

He wanted to watch over the great power, so he stayed above ground and stayed there for thousands of years, waiting and spreading evil. He met a girl he immediately fell in love with, a thing he never realized he could actually feel, and even though her heart belonged to someone else he still wanted her. He helped her get the power that changed her into a monster, got her anything she wanted with no hesitation or questions, and was with her even though he was aware she was playing with him and another but was still blinded by her love. And helped fulfill her death wish by finding her again in this lifetime.

Everything he did, he claims he did for her. But the only problem was really he only did it for a monstrous, manipulating witch known as Libitina. Nothing he has done has really been for her.

He attacked her family when she was still a young girl, with a purpose of kidnapping her and rising her like she was one of his own, personally signing her father's death sentence when he cursed him with a deadly illness. He ended up hurting people she cared about more than several times just to mess with her head and get close to her. He didn't play with her like a doll like Libitina did with her, but he did most certainty used her for amusement which was just as bad.

Flora held out her hand, stopping Alaric right at his tracks. He looked at her curiously with an arched eyebrow, wondering exactly what she was up to. She turned to him, looking deep into those dark black, hypnotizing eyes, made sure her face was an expressionless mask and her eyes unreadable, and said in an urgent yet flat voice as she gripped tightly onto his jacket, "Kiss me."

She was aware of Alaric's speed and how everything he does was delivered with lightening-fast refreezes, but was still unprepared for her back to suddenly be arched against the stone walls in a second, strong arms gripping onto her shoulders, and a pair of cool lips covering her warm ones.

The kiss was unexpected and was the same as it was before. It was like the kiss was cool water, sending waves to crash over all the places that were hot inside of her. Passionate, hot, softly and gentle, yet deep and hungrily. She only closed her eyes and kissed Alaric back softly while he enveloped her tightly in his arms, kissing her with such strong intensity and hunger it made her breathless from the touch. She tried to make it as small and gently as she could while he muster all the passion he felt for her into that kiss, giving it his all, she tried to seal her lips and he forced his tongue through her mouth after biting on her bottom lip, and she tried to avoid tongue contact while he softly brushed his against her.

The thing she hated so much about the kiss was how thrilling and dangerous it was, something that seemed to attract a part inside of her that wanted more. With each caress of the tongue, a sound that was a cross between a whimper and a moan escaped her lips; each time the kiss would slowly deepen and become more passionate than the last, she would grip onto him tighter; each time she could feel his hands going underneath her cloak and touch her, she would remember nothing else and only wanted more. The kiss was everything a girl could only wished it, passionate delivered with perfection and muster with love, and a kiss that made a fire lit up in the core of her heart and burn like a raging, fierce fireball and trembled her soul.

A kiss that was so much similar to Helia's kisses, making her mind go blank of anything else that wasn't important or had anything to do with the kiss, making pleasurable chills tingly down her spine and a fire burn inside of her. So similar, it was hard to tell the difference between the two till she realized there was something wrong.

Both kisses were so good and addicting, but….nothing in the wide realms, near or far, could match Helia's. Nothing at all.

She kissed Alaric for as long as she could, ignoring the fact she was going to need to breathe soon or she'll be unconscious, and also knowing he was taking all his time enjoying the kiss. She was able to slowly regain a few breaths while his lips trailed down from her collarbone to her jaw line, hungrily attacking her neck like a ravenous animal enjoying its' latest catch.

She bit her bottom lip hard in an effect to keep the moan buried in her throat kept under wraps as he sucked on a certain spot on her neck, soon failing as she lips parted and the moan was released.

Flora quickly braced herself, for her lips were crashed hard against his. This time he kissed her more deeply with some gentleness but there was still love stirring inside.

She was able to fully breathe when Alaric slowly detached their lips, stealing one quick peck before finally pulling back. She touched the left side on her neck, knowing fully well there was a deep purple bruise. She looked up at Alaric, who was watching her with smiling eyes and a smile playing on his lips. She took a step toward him, placing her hand slowly on his chest where his heart was at, and slowly a small smile was on her face.

Brushing her lips against his, she locked eyes with his. When he saw a glint in her eyes, which were finally showing so emotion, his smile was widening, and took that opportunity to kiss her again. When the kiss ended, he cupped her face in both hands and caressed her cheeks.

Flora placed her hands over his and took a step closer to him, smiling softly. "I hate you."

She had the pleasure of watching his lovesick, daze face scatter right before her eyes, crumbling into pure shock and intense, massive amounts of undeniably sorrow.

Seeing his pain reminded her how once, in a different life, pain was something enjoyable to her and never failed to make a smile spread across her face. She winked at Alaric, pulled her hood over her head and started to walk away, hiding her mischievous eyes from view that slowly changed to fiery red. She could feel his eyes watching her, completely she was focusing all her energy on a new target.

"Wha-_!_" He shook his head once, coming out from his shock, but soon he fall to the ground in a heartbeat moment as an ear-scattering shriek screaming pain erupted from his mouth. He was lying in fetal position, body shaking uncontrollably and limbs twitching wildly, with his hands gripping tightly onto his head, his screaming getting louder and louder with each passing second. Searing hot needles were piercing his skull while his body was being eaten away by flames, firing up every limb in his body.

The witches stopped their chatter the second they heard him scream and came over to help him. A single touch or brush from them was a pain, sharp and venomous, biting him, making him scream even louder.

_This is not only what you've done to my dad, but for everything horrible you've done to me and my friends_, Flora smirked as her vivid red eyes glowed brighter to a unbelievable, dark yet vivid brilliant shade of red, making the already unbearable and searing pain Alaric was experiencing worsen even more. He screamed so loud, the sound wasn't only ear-scattering; it was also loud enough for the whole planet to his pained howls.

"The more I think about it, the more I seem to remember and realize how truly sad you are," Flora told him, her words seeming innocently pleasant and sweet but darkened with cold venomous. "So truly sad, it's really considered nothing but pathetic."

She looked up at the Shadow Demons, no longer watching Alaric but looking at her with patience, waiting for a command. Sobering up, Flora let her smirk fall into a serious frown. "Left him. He's useless," She ordered, and then walked away without looking at Alaric.

The Red Fountain was fast, but it wasn't fast enough to get all the way to the Dark Dimension in seven minutes. The girls decided magic was the only resource they had. They formed into a circle, gripped onto each other's hands, and the girls recited a powerful transporting spell that required a strong convergence bond and nearly all their Winx to get them to the Dark Dimension in fast light-speed.

The magical universe was filled with countless planets, each one different from each other but still beautiful and amazing in its' own way. Except doing research on it for class and reading about it, none of them never really knew too much about the dark realm-other than the fact it was dark-much less ever been there.

The planet was an absolute hush, the silence so quiet footsteps can be heard from a distance and so much like the one from scary movies before something horrible was bound to happen. Everything about it was almost as beautiful in a chilling, gloomy kind of way with the dead plants and nature, the freezing chill the wind was blowing and the fog, and the lack of anything that wasn't depressing.

Tecna remembered Titania's instructions of Libitina's castle and was able to get the right coordinates on her handheld. She guided her friends through many different trails and paths, taking a long stroll through the depressing forest till they reached a clearing where the castle was only a feet away.

When they reached the clearing, they instantly hid for cover behind trees and bushes when they saw over hundreds, close to thousands, of Shadow Demons and monsters from Shadow Haunt were covered at every possible inch of the castle, eyes darting here and there repeatedly, waiting and watching.

"There's an estimate of about thirty-six thousand." Timmy calculated.

"Way too many to take down." Nabu commented.

"How much time do we have left, Timmy?" Brandon asked.

"Six-point-four minutes and counting," Tecna answered for him.

There was no way they were going to beat all those Shadows and get to Flora on time.

"Any ideas?" Riven asked. "Can't you girls do a spell to get us inside?"

"This coming from the hothead who never fails to say 'Leave this girls to the job to the specialists!'" Stella mocked, knowing she was already pushing his buttons by the scowl on his face that she smiled sweetly at.

"Listen here, you privilege little princess-"

"Knock it of, you two!" Musa could feel a best friend and boyfriend fight seconds away from happening and was definitely not in the mood for another round of it.

"We could use magic to get inside by making a portal," Bloom suggested.

"Except we would need to know where Flora is or where she's going to." Layla finished.

"We're already on it," Musa closed her eyes and was listening for any sound while Tecna was taking a full view of the impressive estate with her digital goggles. "I hear something."

All except for Tecna leaned closer to Musa and watched as creases were furrowed on her forehead, showing signs of struggle and hard concentration.

"Footsteps underground, at an underground path past the west tower on your right. They're going straight and heading towards a room."

"A room that is exactly, directly below Libitina's throne room where my specs are picking up interesting activity going on," Tecna finished. "We could use a portal to get inside, but…"

"But….what?" Stella asked.

"Only problem is the castle is completely covered by a powerful protection barrier. It's going to take something extremely powerful for it to come down, and that thing would have to be very close near the castle."

"There has to be a way." Helia frowned to himself.

"I have an idea," Musa proposed. "I know a way we can get inside and something that can bring down the barrier. I have to get close to the gates, but I need you guys to do something for me. Cover your ears real good when I step out of hear and keep them cover till I give you a signal to uncover."

Riven gripped by her the elbow, stopping her for a moment from leaving. He would have kissed her then, but with everyone around to witness it his friends would never shut up about it for as long as he lived. So, instead he wished her luck. "Be careful," he warned.

"I will." She promised, and ran toward the castle.

Between her fourth and fifth step, Musa transformed herself and she could already feel thousands of eyes staring at her, sending deadly cold glares her way. She knew they were start firing at her, so it was best that she started doing it right away.

She smiled softly at them, and her friends took that as a sign to start covering their ears. She then started to sing.

It was a song with no lyrics, but had the most beautiful melody ever sung before. So beautiful, the creatures were instantly caught in its' spell, and the gang could still hear her even with their ears covered.

The beautiful song was just so magical and beautiful, too pure and beautiful to listen to but also too beautifully addicting not to pay attention to it. It was a song that was low and clear as the wind blowing a gentle, soft breeze but somehow deep and powerful.

It was known as the song of siren, the same song according to legend that mermaids would sing to attract the attention of sailors, who would pay attention to nothing else except the beautiful song and the beautiful singers, to lure them to their deaths. The death song was a most powerful enchantment could ever hope to accomplish, much less master it to perfection, and more than most never can achieve it while a slim few would.

Musa continued to smile as she sang, pretending not to take note of the monsters crowding closer around her to listen to her beautiful sound. It was time to kick the music up a notch.

Something then started to happen. As the song got higher, the monsters were all suddenly down on their knees, their hands gripping tightly onto their heads which were thrown back as they screamed loud at the top of their lungs. Screaming so loudly, the sound could easily scatter an eardrum with the its' deafening sound.

Once Musa hit the high note, they were screaming like never before, more loudly than a voice can even manage and impossibly getting louder by the second till they exploded into dusts.

With her smile still on her face, Musa lowered her head and the friends uncovered her ears, coming over to her while looking down at the powdered remains.

"Great job, Musa." Layla said.

"Thanks." She smiled.

"What the heck was that?" Stella asked.

"The song of the siren," Musa answered. "Beautiful but absolutely deadly to listen to."

"Well, thanks to your singing and the monsters' screaming, the barrier has been brought down." It was still astonishing how a simple yet beautiful song could make creatures scream so loudly, it easily broke the barrier into scatter glass.

"The let's go get Flora." Helia wasted no time running through the main palace of the huge castle estate. He remembered exactly where the throne room was and knew there was a secret entrance leading to an underground room, the same room he had a strong hunch Flora was going to.

"Where's Flora now, Tec?" Bloom asked. She and the girls were soaring through the air, making their wings fly faster, while the boys were running as fast as they could as they followed Helia, who somehow know his way around the castle and was much faster than they though as he led through countless staircases, hallways, and passageways, till they reached the forty-seventh floor and headed down a long, lone hallway.

"According to scanners, she is directly underneath us and is two minutes away from her distinction, which is surprisingly an alter." Tecna answered.

"I remember exactly where that is. It's underneath the throne room, and in there is a passageway that can lead us right there." Helia said.

They reached the double-sided, grand doors at the end of the hallway. Sky helped Helia slowly push the doors open, and soon they were all frozen in their places in shock by what was lying in front of them.

"_OH MY GOD_ " Stella screamed.


	22. Chapter 22

The throne room wasn't exactly what they had in mind. They expected over hundreds of portraits of the dark queen hanging on the wall for her to admire whenever she walked through the room, statues of ravens and other dark things, the entire room to be painted black and red since those seemed to be Libitina's two main colors she loved playing with, and the biggest throne they ever seen adorned with various jewels. Instead the room was bare in the simple way, still big in round size, the walls bare with nothing decorative and only painted in bland white and gray, the floors smooth marble stone and spotlessly shiny like a bright penny, and the throne was soft, crushed red velvet with black beads adorned on it.

Inside the throne room, dangling high from the shackles encircled around their wrists, were prisoners dressed in rags that used to be their fine clothing, the still vivid harsh bruises on their bodies showed they had suffered the harshest cruelty and punishment in history. What was so shocking was that the prisoners have probably been here for over hundreds of years yet their bodies weren't reduced to dust and looked like they were preserved, their blank eyes wide open and staring at the Winx girls and RF boys with no thought or emotion inside.

Bloom, Stella, Musa, Tecna, Layla, Sky, Brandon, Riven, Timmy, Nabu, and Helia were looking right into the dead, haunting eyes of Princess Luna of Sparks, Princess Chelsea of Solaria, Princess Melody of the Harmonic Nebula, Titania of Zenith, Princess Lauren of Tides, Prince Skyler of Erakylon and Brandon, Timothy and Riven, and Simba of Tides.

"_!_" Stella did an ear-scattering scream, killing eardrums with her extremely loud shriek and was pretty much was acting the way everyone was feeling on the inside. After she spent a good twenty seconds screaming at the top of her lungs, blackness soon came upon her and the Solarian princess fainted into the arms of her boyfriend.

"Oh my god!" Bloom murmured, unable to break free from the haunting gaze of Princess Luna's dead eyes. She clutched onto her stomach, feeling countless back flips happening with her stomach and was close to fainting.

"What the hell?" Riven said.

"I feel like I'm going to be sick, I feel like I'm going to be sick," Tecna repeated innumerable times, needing support from Timmy to keep from falling to the ground.

"If this is Libitina's idea of being decorative, then she's seriously screwed in the head." Layla commented.

"What the heck?" Brandon glanced, feeling like they were part of a horror movie. "I thought they were long gone and be skeletons or powdered ash. Why would Libitina want to hang her ex-friends in the throne room?"

"She didn't," Helia answered, and everyone then turned to him. "The others were dead before Libitina herself was killed by me and I by her. Alaric hated me and your relatives for killing her, so I can only guess he preserved their bodies and used them for his own amusement."

Stella cringed as she did a shudder by the thought of something so disturbing. Not to mention completely disgusting. "Just when I think Alaric cannot get anymore disturbing, he always manages to outdo himself."

"Well when a group of people kill the girl he loves, you can't really expect them to become his favorite people in the world." Helia shrugged.

"But still," Stella protested. "To actually torment their _preserved_ bodies when they already getting tortured enough as it by the Midnight Raven is just sick and wrong in so many levels."

By the corner of the grand room, there was another body. But unlike the others, it wasn't preserved, the severe bruises marked on the body were somehow ten times harsher and cruller, and the arms, legs, and head were actually sliced off with the dry blood crusting around the severe wounds.

They could all immediately tell who the unfortunate soul Alaric decided to be beheaded, disarmed and dis-legged.

Julio.

Timmy placed his hand on his best friend's shoulder, giving him a sympathy look. "That's just harsh."

A small smile of grim bitterness was on Helia's face as he eyed his old former body, seeing how much it has suffered from the hatred and anger Alaric felt unleashed for the killing of his queen. So much has been done to it, it was barely recognizable. "He hated me more than anything. He wanted me to suffer as much as he did," He shook his head, his smile dissolving into a serious frown. "But we can't waste anymore time speaking on the past. We can only move forward. We only have two and a half minutes left to stop Flora."

"But we can't leave their bodies here." Bloom protested.

"You don't really expect us to drag them with us, do you?" Brandon arched his eyebrow.

She shook her head. "No, but we can transport their bodies back to a safe place where we can give them a proper burial they deserve."

It seemed like the right thing to do after everything with the relatives have suffered for doing that was right. Bloom and the girls quickly formed a circle, holding hands and reciting a spell that caused magic to spill from their hearts and through the chests of the past descendants, making the bodies disappear one by one.

"Now that we fixed that problem, we have to get moving. It's eleven fifty-eight, so we only have two minutes to stop Flora." Layla said.

"We're never going to get there on time." Bloom said.

"Yes we are. Follow me. I know a short cut." Helia led his friends to the wall behind the throne, covered with red silk drapes. He shoved the drapes aside, looked at the wall for a moment, and lifted up his foot to give a good high kick. The friends stared at him, baffled, for a moment, and Helia only smiled a bit smugly at their faces.

"Okay. Care to explain what was the point of-"

Riven's words were cut short as the wall Helia kicked rumbled before slowly lifting itself off the ground, pulling up towards the ceiling, revealing a secret passageway.

As much as they wanted to question this, they realize time was quickly running out and all quickly ran inside down the passageway with Helia leading the way.

_I will not let you down this time, Flora,_ Helia thought. _Just hang on_.

The alter was absolutely nothing like an alter at all. It was a big room with endless space, marble stones of the midnight raven placed on tall pillars at every corner near the four ceiling high doorways connecting together to the center of the room where an enormous centerpiece of the raven's open palm claw stood. What also made it very interesting was that, according to Alaric, they were under the throne room. Yet there were huge gaps at the ceiling, showing the dark sky hovering over them and feeling the surprisingly gentle breeze the wind was blowing.

Alaric was able to catch up with them, walking with difficulty though. He held the ancient spell book that kept the great power imprisoned for thousands of years and helped Rosalina get it in the first place in one hand, reading a powerful spell and reciting it in a dead, foreign language as he walked around the center piece of the raven's open hand and spilling shimmering black powder behind him.

As he said the last word of the spell, he stepped back. The moment he did that, the black dust he spilled over the floor gathered up together in a circle around the centerpiece, glowing bright onyx.

"It is done. The ashes of the Great Raven formed into the black circle." He murmured at himself. Flora could feel his eyes boring into her back, trying to will her to turn back and look at him. She folded her arms against her chest; eyes narrowed, and refused to do such a thing.

The Trix witches were all huddled by a corner, talking excitedly about what was going to happen soon. The remaining dozen Shadow Creatures were wandering around, being on high alert.

One of them, having the figure of a petite young woman, black braids sprouting from her head and down to her elbows with the same eerie red eyes as the others approached Flora with a low bow. "Mistress, is there anything I can do that would make you feel more comfortable?"

There were so many answers to that question, most of them including that this day could be existed from history. Flora swallowed down a lump in her throat and shook her head, her left hand holding tightly onto the engagement ring. "What is your name?"

"I do not have a name, mistress. You felt there really wasn't a need for all of us to be named."

"Okay, then," Flora said, a bit baffled. "Well…I think being named would be a good thing, so you shall be called…Moon."

"If that is what my mistress pleases." Moon bowed low again.

"I need you to do something for me. Do I have a jewelry box in my room?"

"The room where you would sleep and wish to be alone at or the room where you and Master Alaric would entertain yourselves?"

Hearing the last part nearly made Flora nausea in the stomach. Trying hard not to shudder with disgust from the memories, she said "The room where I slept and wanted to be alone. I need you to put these pieces with the others in my box."

After kissing each charm of her friendship bracelet and letting her lips linger longest on the ring, Flora unhooked the bracelet and necklace and handed it over to Moon, who nodded once before melting to the ground, her body dissolving into a piece of darkness sliding away from sight.

She felt so naked with her friendship bracelet and the necklace symbolizing her love for Helia, but was glad she did it anyway. It was better that would be kept safe in a jewelry box than with her as she was about to do one of the most unbelievable things in her life. She had a strong feeling if she wore them when she did the spell, then they would only be destroyed in the end.

The Midnight Raven was growing more and more powerful, being stronger and ruthless with each passing second. She could feel the ancient power within her, chirring in her stomach and running with an adrenaline through her veins, just waiting to be burst out. Flora looked up at the sky, able to see the silvery glow of the full moon through the thick darkness of the sky. It was like a milky eye was looking down at her, trying to give words of wisdom and words of sympathy, but also saying the time was now.

"It is time." She murmured.

Alaric nodded, hearing her words even with the distance wedged between them. He broke that distance as he walked over them, wordlessly holding out the book. Flora slowly placed her right hand on the book, closing her eyes for a moment as memories of the sins she had committed in her past flooded in her head, along with flashbacks of the horrible things she had done after she got what she wanted.

_They said doppelganger duplicates are born to undo the mistakes and problems their original twin had caused_, Flora thought about everything Rosalina had done. Letting her jealously control her and turned to the side of darkness; becoming one of the most dangerous witches in the history of Magix with an ancient power that was the most powerful energy source; breaking the bond of friendship she had with girls who were like a second family to her and ending up being their murder; turning the magical universe into the Devil's wasteland of eternal hell where pain and suffering were between absolutely unbearable and searing; and betrayed the young man she loved more than anything like he did to her, playing with him and another man who was loyal to her and loved her as well.

It's so ironic how she was simply born to finish everything she started in the first place.

As her hand made contact with the book, great, intense power that matched the exact force and strength of the Raven was seeping through her body. The force was so much, the wind was instantly knocked out from her and she nearly fell to the ground. But she forced herself to fight against the force, biting hard on her bottom lip and shutting her eyes tight as the energy from the book and the raven inside of her connected together, entwining together like threads of weave, stirring together inside of her and becoming one.

"Flora of Linpea, descendant and reincarnation of the great angel of darkness and queen of hell, Libitina," Alaric said, his words holding such firmness everyone including Flora herself paid extra attention to listen to his words, sounding so ancient and loud his voice was echoing throughout the room. "Are you ready to accept your destiny?"

"Yes-" Her words were immediately cut off as a great mass of powerful convergence shoot from the doorway behind her, aiming straight forward her. She leaped back just in time, but Alaric and the witches were slow to react and got hit hard by the blast, being hurled across the room and being slammed against the wall.

"I got your destiny right here!" Musa clapped her hands together; deafening the monsters with her sonic rays, and making them crumble to the ground.

"Convergence!" Bloom and Stella held hands, focusing the energy of the Dragon fire and sun and moon into a strong attack. "Solar dragon whirlwind blast!"

Flora stood there speechless, waiting her friends as they took down the Shadow Demons, destroying them with everything they had till the creatures fell to the ground. The Winx girls sealed the witches up in bubble sphere and sent them packing down the hall, the RF boys took down the Shadow Demons, and Helia did a series of back flips and leaps before reaching Alaric and delivering a powerful kick to the face that sent the villain skidding across the floor.

"It's over, Alaric." Helia snarled.

"On the contrary, dim-wit," Alaric slowly get himself off the ground, his back turned to them but they could all feel a cruel smirk spreading across his beautiful face. "It's only the beginning."

At the snap of his fingers, the shadows beneath their feet rose and pounced on them, knocking them flat to the ground and entangling their bodies in a deadly tight bound.

"Flora!" Helia yelled, struggling to break free.

"That is enough!" Flora glared at Alaric, using her mental ability to send fiery pain to his head, ten times more intense than she did before. She watched as he fell to his knees, his hands grabbing his head, and screaming his head out. She trapped inside a shield and sent the shield to where the witches were at. She turned back to her friends, raised up her left hand, and with that action the shadows released them and returned back to the ground.

"Thank God we got here just in time." Helia wasted no time bringing Flora close to his chest, wrapping his arms around her.

Flora held onto him, returning his embrace and resting her head on his strong shoulder. Tears rushed to her eyes as she deeply inhaled his sweet, familiar scent, remembering how not too long ago she watched him get brutally stabbed by Alaric. She ran her fingers through his smooth, silk hair and taking in deep breaths while trying to remind herself this wasn't the time for tears.

As much as it felt good and safe in his arms, she forced himself to pull away from the sweet embrace. Taking a step back, she looked at her lover and dear friends. "It has already begun. It's too late to stop it now."

"This is crazy, Flora!" Musa said.

"You're willing to throw everything away, destroy the good force of magic and let darkness win over a silly prophecy?" Bloom tried to talk some sense into her.

"Bloom, I know what I know." Flora simply said.

"I don't accept that," Helia spoke for them all. "You can take control, Flora. You can make it not happen!"

"The prophecy was meant to happen the moment I was out from my mother's womb. The moment I was born, my destiny was sealed to be absolute," She told her friends. "All my life, I always felt a dark side of me trying to break free, wanting to make others suffer and spread pain. She was like the devil side of me, my exact opposite and loved seeing pain and darkness. I tried to keep that dark side hidden and successful was able to tame that dark side it till now. All the good I've done in my life, all the fighting we have done to beat evil and villains can never make up for what I had done in the past and the horrible things I am meant to do again."

"But that's just it! You're not the same girl you were in your past life! You changed, and I mean that in a good way. You have faith in yourself, you believe in yourself, and even at your moments of insecurity you would never let control you." Helia said.

"No one can know their destiny!" Layla said. "Not even you."

"There are a lot of things I didn't know. Like how I would make such wonderful friends. The greatest friends a girl can ever hope to have." Slowly, she looked at the faces of each of her best friends, the moisture of un-shed tears stinging her eyes, and lastly looked at Helia. "Or meet the boy I love both now and then, who is one of the greatest guys I ever known in my life."

Her friends were silent, unable to believe what they were hearing.

"All I wanted," Flora said, lowering her head and telling herself repeatedly not to cry. "Was to make my birthday and your last day perfect. But instead you spent it worrying about me. Fighting for me, getting hurt because of me, and nearly got killed all because of me."

Helia took one step toward her, lifting her head up with his finger, and smiling gently as he caressed her cheek. "It's what friends do."

"And as my friends, you have to let me go." The moment Flora stepped, she was inside the black circle. The moment it felt her presence, the black formed a powerful barrier around the whole area except the center of the room.

"No!" Helia and the friends used everything they had within them to take down the barrier, seeing it was not only powerful but was featured with a deflection spell, sending back anything they threw at it and somehow making the barrier stronger.

Taking one last glance at them, Flora stripped off her cloak and was dressed in a black lacey-trim corset and mini skirt with ankle black boots. As she took a step forward toward the hand, the stones in front of her piled up into a high staircase and she slowly began to climb up. With each step she was taking, her heart was sinking lower and lower. When she finally reached the hand, she got herself into mediating position and was flowing a feet over the open palm.

"_The Dark Angel was born again to spread mayhem and fear, to claim the entire universe as her own and turn each realm into the Devil's hell, where pain and misery will the be the only thing anyone ever feels and happiness will cease to exist, and she shall take her rightful place as queen of all hell and evil._"

When her eyes opened again, they were the deepest yet brightest shade of crimson red they had ever seen, glowing brightly like flaming fire. One by one, marks of sinister evil and wickedness were blazed onto her body, matching the shade of her eyes and were brighter than they had ever seen them before.

_Even behind her closed eyes, the brightness of the crimson was too much it was blinding. She opened her eyes just the slightest, watching the crimson red slowly change into bright blinding white, and a mirror placed in front of her showing a image of her herself in the cool hand reaching out for her with a small, soft smile on her face. _

_Smiling a bit herself, she reached out for the girl's hand as well. The moment their hands connected and linked together through the cold glass, the glass instantly shattered into thousands of tiny sharp pieces, scattering around the air and piercing through them. Liquid dripped heavily from the wounds, but they weren't blood. Instead clear and sticky, almost like clear honey. The pierces didn't hurt one bit. The pain was so numb to even be considered pain, but instead should be considered warm and dark._

"_No!_" Helia screamed, pounding the shield with everything he had.

With a loud scream echoing throughout the palace, Flora rose to her feet which were spread apart, her arms stretched out and hands balled up into tight fists. The marks were peeling off her body, spilt into three circles spinning around her like a hurricane.

"Flora!" Layla sobbed, and then ran into the arms of Nabu, who held her tightly. It was too much to see next what was going to happen.

The circles were spinning faster and faster around her, flashes of vivid red. Flora's whole body began to a glow a bright onyx black, till a bright white sphere was glowing from her stomach, sprouting bigger and bigger around her body till she was gone from sight.

_And at the end of the last pierce, Rosalina and Flora connected their blood into one, their souls stirring together like a mixture. One of the same with one gaining freedom and the other being a prisoner. _

_Everything was slowly getting darker to her as the biggest shard of glass sliced right through her chest; the white brightness was slowly fading away. The world was getting darker and darker till there was nothing but blackness at all, and Flora found herself at strange peace at a dark, warm place._

The white sphere and the circles mixed together till they disappeared, then a second later was a gigantic ring of fire that exploded into the most powerful force, knocking everyone to the ground or against the wall.

The ring of fire crumpling the raven palm into dusts, lowering itself from the ground, the flames sprouting high to the ceiling. Through the wild mane of fire, they were able to see a girl slowly rising. A slender girl with her hair flowing wildly, arms stretched out, and was flowing high in the air. Streaks of the flames danced around her body, creating a new set of sinister marks.

The friends took a step closer, trying to get a better long at the girl. They were about to see the tan color of her skin, the caramel golden-brown long hair flowing wildly, and got a close look on her face, a face so similar that belonged to two different people it was hard to tell who was who.

Streaks of shadows danced along with the fire on her body, forming into what looked to be an outfit. Streaks circled around her chest, creating a red petal-themed sleeveless, midriff-bearing top. Streaks danced around her legs, coming together to create a black petal-shaped skirt with a red string tying in its' place and red frills underneath. And the remaining streaks went down to her feet, taking on the form of a fine pair of black leather ankle-length, high-heeled boots. A single flame gathered her hair together, like it was holding all of it like a ponytail, and ran through her hair, darkened it to a chestnut shade and coloring a few strands fiery red streaks. Some of her hair was gathered into a pair of buns tied on top of her head, sporting black bows, while the rest of her hair was flowing down her back. With a soft cry escaping from her lips, a pair of lustrous raven wings sprouted from her back, expanding widely.

When she finally landed on the feet, the flames lowered themselves but didn't go away. It didn't matter though, because they were able to still her clearer than before.

"Flora?" Helia murmured, praying it would be so.

"Wrong," Slowly, a smile cold enough to be known as pure evil but had a hint of pleasant innocence to be considered sweet spread across her beautiful face, her fiery red laughing with amusement. "Dead wrong, Julio."

"Libitina," Alaric smiled as he walked over to her, bowing low to her and placing a soft kiss to her hand. "It's so good to have you back."

"It's quite good to be back," She smirked, and then turned back to the faces of her reincarnate's friends, who were looking madder than she had ever seen them, baring their teeth and snarling. "I have a new message for you. One you can give to your friends, your family, and anyone you think would want to hear it. Tell them that the bitch is back, baby. And she is better than ever."

With that being said and the last word of her speech empathized and echoing loudly, Libitina titled her head back, her mouth opening to let of a loud scream that was the eerie shriek of the Midnight Raven. She lifted her arms up to the sky, her voice ringing out a shriek more painful to listen to than the sound of nails scratching against the chalkboard.

A sphere of darkness appeared in her cupped hands, and the black and red mixed light surged from between her fingers, blinding bright and piercing, flashing like bright onyx and ruby red, burning like black and crimson flames.

As the echo of her scream rose higher and higher, Libitina slowly spread her arms, and as she did so the darkness poured from her in a fountain of onyx and ruby fire. The column of darkness gushed upward, fanning out, spreading rapidly over the dark sky, spreading not only to the dark dimension but to others and the rest of the realms. Lifting like a series of giant waves, curling and breaking at its peak, scattering and cascading from the horizon of each realm to realm, banishing all that was good and beautiful, bathing the whole universe into eternal darkness.

"The universe is mine!" She threw her head back and letting out the one of most chillingly, wickedness laughs ever heard before in history. 


	23. Chapter 23

If there was one thing Libitina had done right, it was keeping her death wish promise and showing she wasn't kidding around. She was stronger than ever, much stronger than they anticipated and ever dreamt a magical being could ever be. She seized control of the entire magical dimension with one powerful sphere of black magic she shot up at the sky, affecting all the realms and hitting them harder than anything energy source known, erasing beauty and light and goddess in a mere instant, and letting the rotting depths of hell take over.

It was all too shocking how it happened. One moment Flora was saying her final goodbyes and stepping back, stepping into the black circle encircling around the centerpiece décor of the raven's open claw statue. As it felt her presence, the circle formed a powerful barrier covering the whole area except the center of the room, trapping them like caged animals. They watched in horror as Flora climbed up the stone steps, got herself into position, and performed the prophecy of her birth.

Through an explosion of crimson and white, the girl knew and loved as their friend was gone forever, and the moment the spell was completed the dark angel was set free at last.

All it took was one powerful sphere for the entire universe to be at her command. And the next instant, everything went black…

He had been awakened by the sound of chirping. He willed himself to open his eyes, but they felt so heavy it was so impossible to do so. And it didn't make things better that his body felt so worn-out and heavy to even move an inch.

When he finally opened his eyes while getting himself into sitting position, having such a strong feeling of blur dazedness like he has been asleep for what felt like a long century, he was at what looked to be an underground tunnel with nothing, hovering over him, at the Gloomy wood forest in Magix instead of at the underground alter in Libitina's castle at the Dark Dimension. He wondered how he gotten here in the first place, but before he could comment he looked around, his mouth dropping to the ground. He could now clearly see how much things, including the forest, have changed while he was resting.

The sky was no longer bright and beautiful, only blooded-red with streaks of black clouds slashed across it; the sun standing still overhead, its glorious light forever lost in eternal black. The clear waters he used to always see from a distance were dried up and cracked, looking like empty grounds of the Sahara desert. Every plant, flower, leaf and petal, and tree were cracked up, dry, and dead, drained of its' beautiful color and now in dull gray and black. With a few red-eyed ravens hovering in the trees, flying from tree branch to branch and most eerily still like statures, their blooded eyes guarded and stance high on alert.

Helia panicked by the number size of ravens, making sure he was positively still like a statue. If he made the slightest move or, heaven forbid, make a single sound, then the birds would surely pick up the sound and he would be attacked by a swarm of birds.

He heard the same, soft chirping sound that woke him up from his deep sleep before, but saw none of the birds on the trees were making a sound. Much less paying attention to him. Hearing the sound again, a bit louder this time, he darted his eyes over to his left where a raven was standing right next to him, looking down at him.

But what made it this particular raven so different from the others was that instead of the chilling blood red that was the eyes color for the others, this one instead had green eyes. A very beautiful, pricelessly deep green shade close to jeweled emeralds with an odd look that was so familiar. The same look he has seen countless times in someone else's eyes before.

"Flora?" he murmured so quietly.

For the longest time, the raven just stood there with those emerald eyes boring into him. Till finally, she ruffled her feathers, open her mouth to let out another chirping call, and flew away without taking another glance at Helia.

"Hey! Wait up!" Without even thinking about it, he got up from the floor and followed the bird. The ravens were just standing still, not paying one bit of attention to him.

Helia kept running and running, not paying attention to anything else except following the green-eyed raven. He didn't realize where he was at till he stopped when he noticed the remains of destroyed buildings and saw he was at Magix.

He recalled what Flora had told him about what he had first seen in her first flashback, after that fateful afternoon at the train station when Alaric first saw her again and held her by the hand. Of the city looking like it was reduced to a wasteland with black and red flames burning up everything in sight, simple people out on the streets molted into statues with fear in their eyes, the sounds of pain-filled screams and heartless laughter filling the dreaded silence, and dozens of raven birds posted on the remains of destroyed buildings.

Magix was barely recognizable anymore. There was nothing left of buildings but debris that was occupied by ravens, black and red fires destroying everything in sight, and the most shocking of them all, which he wasn't prepared to be: innocent people molted into statues, their posture showing they were trying to run away and struggling to break away from the shadows dragging them down.

His own uncle was one of the unfortunate victims. His face was scrunched up, showing struggle, and his right arm risen over his head with his staff tightly clutched in his hand like he was about to do a spell to protect himself. The shadows were entangled around his body, reaching up to his chin.

"Uncle." He was in a shock trance, unsure what to do. A scream was stuck in his throat, but no sound was coming out. He felt like laughing hysterically to let out his mixed-up feelings, crying to unleash his sadness, and releasing the anger building up inside of him by punching something so hard. Drawing in a shaky breath, he took a step toward his uncle and ran his hand across his left cheek, feeling the cold smooth stone.

He hadn't known the raven was still with him till he heard the chirping sound again. Looking up, he saw the bird was hovering over him for a moment before making heist and flying away. After staring at the bird and stealing another look at his uncle, Helia quickly catch up with it.

For such a small bird, it was awfully fast. Faster than he expected a bird to go and so fast he had to run with everything he had to make sure not to lose sight of it. The green-eyed raven would occasional look over her shoulder, as if to make sure Helia was still following her, and seemed to motivate her to go faster than before.

"Will you please slow do-" His running was cut off short as his foot caught over something heavy and knocked him flat on his face. Groaning and tenderly rubbing his head, he slowly got up but not before looking around and knowing where he was.

It was hard to recognize at first because there was nothing left of it except the burnt and crumpled buildings remains, but he knew the campus well enough from the countless he came to visit his love.

He was at Alfea, and he saw he wasn't alone.

Rising from the shadows underneath, half a dozen Shadow Beings raised, their shapes taking on the form of strong men and women, red eyes showing a craving for fighting and dark smiles spreading across their faces.

_Oh great_, he thought sarcastically as trouble was coming his way. He lot the sword Alaric had given them for their sword duel, which would have been the perfect thing to use for his fight against these demons. He still had his laser glove, but had a strong feeling it wasn't going to do him do.

It's better than nothing, he frowned.

He readied himself as two were rushing toward him; their sharp claws raised high over their heads. He entangled one with his laser, pressing a button and sending a shock to the beast while he knocked one down with a sleek spin-kick. But suddenly pain exploded at the back of his head as monster sent a powerful, unexpected blow from behind. As he fell to his knees, the creatures took that opportunity to strike, grabbing him by the arms and legs, and using their powers to entangle him into their dark cocoon.

"Get off of me!" He exclaimed, trying with all his might to break free.

"Digital slap!" An explosion of bright green energy danced in front of them, and Helia quickly closed his eyes to escape the brightness of the spell. The shock sent six powerful energy beams piercing through the chests of the monsters, crumbling into dust.

"Nice job, Tec." Timmy praised his girlfriend, stealing a peck from her cheek, and went over to help his friend get back on his feet. "You okay?"

"I'm fine, thanks to Tecna." Helia said, getting a small nod and smile from Tecna.

"Good to see you guys are alright." The two Specialists and the fairy turned around to see the rest of their friends emerging from the forest, coming forward to them. Bloom and Sky with Stella and Brandon coming from the eastern side and Musa and Riven with Layla coming from the west.

It turns out Helia isn't the only one who had woken up confused to be in Magix. Bloom and Sky woke up at the same time and discovered they were in the forest of Red Fountain, Stella and Brandon underneath small building of Magix, Tecna and Timmy near pixie forest which was completely deserted of any pixies, and Musa and Riven were lying on the steps of Cloud Tower.

"The whole place was completely deserted." Sky commented.

"But I don't understand," Helia said, confused. "What exactly led you guys to here?"

Stella shrugged, answering "Probably the same thing that lead you here."

The image of the green-eyes raven with a distinct, familiar look in her piercing emerald eyes came rushing to Helia's head. He quickly looked up and saw the raven bird was long gone.

"Flora," He mumbled to himself. "When I wake up, this raven bird was standing next to me and looking down at me. She had green eyes and such a familiar look that reminded me of…"

"We know," Bloom said, her voice low with sympathy and sadness over everything that happened. "I can't believe all this happened.'

"And the worst thing it should have never happened," Stella said. "We promised our relatives, we promised Nathalie, and we promised Flora we would do everything we can to stop it from happening. But we didn't. And now Flora's gone forever, Libitina had won, and the universe is hell now." Sighing sadly, Stella frowned as she wrapped her arms around herself, feeling a bit warmer and better as Brandon wrapped her in his arms. "I wish…to leave."

"And go where?" Tecna angrily exclaimed, making the others jump by her sharp-toned, loud voice. "Your realm is destroyed, my realm is destroyed, _the whole magical universe_ is destroyed! We try to keep our promises to stop this from happening and we failed! The only two people who would know what to are either a _frigging_ statute or had her soul sucked from her while the other is…"

Her vice trailed off as a loud sob erupted from her mouth, soon followed by hot tears streaming down her face. After watching the serious girl cry her eyes out for a few moments, one by one the Winx girls cracked from the intense pressure of bitter grief and anger, holding each other tight and crying their tears out. Their boyfriends stood behind his girlfriend, trying to be brave for them as they comforted but were also lost in their own mix of mixed-up bitterness and grief. Helia was standing alone, his head bent down, looking down at the ground without really seeing it, and balling up his hands into fists so tight they were as white as a ghost.

"There's still one place we can go to," Bloom said, trying a few moments to catch her breath before speaking again. "We could go to my home in Gardenia, at Earth."

"You mean we should leave Magix?" Brandon asked.

"Brandon, I don't think we have any other option," Sky agreed with his girlfriend. "We need to go a safe place where we can up with a plan and don't have to worry about Libitina finding us."

As tough as the decision was, the others saw Bloom and Sky's point and agreed.

Stella took that as a cue to slide off her ring, toss it up in the air, and with a wave to the side, she transported herself and the friends to planet Earth.

**A/n: Hope you guys enjoy the chapters, but I need your help. I'm suffering from writer's block and don't know what to do next. Any ideas or suggestion are welcome. Peace out.**


	24. Chapter 24

Libitina's return was something no one had expected, which was the main reason why it was so easy for her to take complete control over every realm and destroy every planet. Planets mostly destroyed and wastelands now, Shadow Creatures capturing people either by dragging them underneath or grabbing them by force, and all people brought to the Dark Dimension. What awaited the people was either being brought into Libitina's castle to meet the dark queen at her throne room and have her soul sucked from their body, forced into enslavement and do such hard labor work such as digging or building a huge statue in Libitina's honor, brought to her castle not to have their souls sucked out from their bodies but be prisoners in her dudgeons where they would be treated like a wild animal.

All sounded so terribly horrible that if someone was given the option to choose their fate, it would still horrible either way.

For most that were proven useless and left alone at their planets to be statues, about more than fifty percent of all the people of the magical universe were taken from their homes and brought to another lone planet in the Dark Dimension next to the one where Libitina lived. Kids from the tender age of two to seventeen to adults from eighteen to over a hundred years were stripped of their clothes, dressed in horrible and irritating filthy rags, were put to the work at the mines, digging in the dark mines for anything valuable, paired into small groups half a dozen to push a boulder weighing over a thousand pounds across all the way to the other side of the planet and have more than hundreds more to push, or most were given small tools and heavier boulders to make seventy skyscrapers size statures of Libitina in a short limited time. If the work wasn't completed before the short time was up, then the people can expect serve whipping or other cruel punishment, and even more work that was much harder to add to the unfinished job they still had to do.

It didn't make things easier they had to work in such horrible conditions with nearly enough food to eat or water to drink so they would have a bit more energy to keep going, work practically nonstop from early dawn and late evening with only a few occasional seconds to breathe and rest, and working at a planet that had no sun at all but was extremely humid like the hottest summer day in August with the temperature of _a hundred and fifteen_ degrees. And that was only required of the slaves, with hundreds of Shadow Demons monitoring them and attacking any one who they find to be goofing off instead of working, and the Trix Witches given the permission to torment anyone they please, which made very happy witches joyous and smug.

An adorable, dark-haired child no more than six years old stopped working, nearly failing to the ground from lack of food and water. His mother rush over to help him, and the both of them screamed out loud as Shadow Demon unleashed pure fury in his whip he cracked at every inch of their bodies.

"Please have mercy, foul demon!" The mother cried, trying to protect her baby. "My child is starving. Please show some mercy!"

Icy flew down from the high throne she and her sisters were sitting at and watching everything that was going, smirking at the act of senseless mercy they were watching. As the monster raised his whip again for another swing, the ice-witch stopped him and smirked at the fear in the child and mother's eyes.

"My child is sick," The mother said after touching her son's head and feeling he was burning up. "He needs rest, or at least have something to cool off his temper."

After looking at the little kid who was shivering in his mother's arms despite the ridiculously hot heat, Icy figured Libitina wouldn't be too all happy if she allowed one of the workers to die right now. Sighing as she shrugged, she held out her hand and conquered up a tiny piece of ice she handed over to the child, who quickly placed it in his mouth and sucked and sucked on it till it was gone. "Now get back to work, Kid. Otherwise I'll rip the head of your sweet mommy off and make you eat it."

Before she could even finish the sentence, the boy was already handed with his shovel and digging quickly like his life depended on it. Icy smiled, satisfied, and she and being walked away but not before hearing what the mother said underneath her breath.

"So typically for the queen to have someone else do her dirty work for her."

As Icy quickly turned around, an arctic blast exploded from her hand and knocked the mother flat on her back on the hard, rough ground. Before the woman could get up, four Shadow Demons pulled her up by grabbing her by the arms and legs, lifting her over their heads.

"Get off of me!" The woman yelled.

"Mommy!" The child rushed forward to help his mother, but quickly stepped back as Icy aimed an arctic blast at him he was able to dodge.

"I suggest you step back and pipe down, pipsqueak!" Icy turned back to the mother, smiling coldly at her disgusted, angry scowl and ordered the Demons, "Bring her back to the castle to alert Libitina a loser decided to talk back, and make sure she gets just what she deserves at the Dungeon."

The monsters smiled at the order and obeyed, carrying the woman over their heads and leaving behind her son all alone and crying. People nearby and who witnessed the scene wished to help the child and save their mother, but unfortunately knew they couldn't. For one, on the account of working so much and having low energy in their bodies barely keeping them alive, their powers and strength were gone past gone and wouldn't be able to fight against the witches or the monsters. And second of all, they knew from watching a few acts similar to scene they just witnessed, standing up for another who was being treated horribly would only have them tormented.

That horrible scene was now practically everyday life for the slaves. People who disobeyed were brought to Libitina who either killed by swiftly by her hand or simply open her mouth to suck out their soul, adding more energy to her power and sentencing their souls to an eternity of pure torment at the heart of Midnight Raven, then molt their empty body into a statue.

So far about fifty-six hundred innocent people were brought into the throne room to await their fate, fifty souls making Libitina stronger and increasing her power, and fifty bodies molted into statues and used as an example for others never to question her power unless they wished for their fate end up the same. There was no doubt the poor mother who only protected her child was going to number fifty-six hundred and one to have her soul sucked out from her body and her body molted into another statue.

The dungeons were underground, filthy with dust and spider webs gathering up around every corner, the floors, and the ceiling. The prisoners Libitina didn't think was fit enough to be tormented were brought here for her amusement, to torture and play with however and whenever she pleased. The slaves working at the desert-like conditions were torment enough as it was, but somehow compared to the prisoners at the dungeons the slaves were treated with a bit of dignity. For example, the slaves were dressed in rags while prisoners were barely clothed at all, which barely helped the freezing cold and dark conditions they were forced to live in. The slaves may have to work endless hours each day, but were given the time to at least have something to eat while the prisoners were lucky enough to see a small piece of bread crumb barely fitted for a mouse expected to last them through breakfast, lunch, and dinner with a small drop of water from the musky waters from Libitina's lake.

Being trapped in the darkness with the freezing temperature dropping by the second was a cruel and unusual punishment, which can easily trigger the insanity of one's mind and making him/her go from being civil to acting crazed and madman.

For Libitina it seemed like the perfect place to trap Ms. Faragonda, Ms. Griffin, Nathalie, and Flora's own mother, Lilac. The two headmistresses were placed in small, filthy cells next door to each other, Nathalie was hanging from shackles encircling tightly around her wrists and ankles, the metal so hurt it was burning her skin but the pain was long gone, nothing left but numbness. Lilac was placed in a special cell that was slightly different from Ms. Faragonda's and Ms. Griffin's and isolated her from the others, but was still horrible nevertheless.

When Libitina brought her to this place, shoving her roughly inside the cell and locking the door, Lilac watched with tear-filled eyes, hot with deadly anger but cold with unbearable sadness. It was so hard to believe the person capable of being such horrible things was her daughter's reincarnate, so hard to believe her precious flower was gone now and the person now using her body as a puppet was someone her family decided to a true disgrace to them. When she had first lost her husband, the world she had known seem so empty and wasn't the same as it used to be, and she thought there was nothing in the world that could ever muster up to the pain she felt that day her husband closed his eyes, smiled sadly, and was gone. But now she knew something that was equally painful, and that was the death of her daughter.

She wasn't exactly sure it was right to assume Flora was dead, but it was clear her little girl was gone and the one now in control was someone who didn't care about anything or anyone else except for herself.

"What is it?" The words she meant to keep mute inside her head were spilling from her mouth. "That means you so hateful and cruel to others, Libitina?"

Libitina stared at the woman for a moment, raising her eyebrow, as if she couldn't understand the question. Then, slowly, a coldly innocent smile spread across her face. "You call it being cruel and hateful, but I like to think of it as…doing things without worrying about silly conscious. Emotions are for the weak, silly, and can only lead to the death of others while erasing them out from your system makes you so much freer."

Smiling the last time at Lilac, the dark angel moved on to Nathalie, who was hanging limply from her shackles but still had enough strength and energy in her to deliver a dark, anger-filled scowl at Libitina.

"Nathalie," She took a moment to study the elderly woman in front of her, eyeing her from head to toe. She had first met Nathalie as a small seven years old and the last she ever seen the girl again was when she was about…fifteen years old, proving have so much of Chelsea's fair looks and then disappearing from sight. So hard to believe the little girl she watched growing up was now an elder woman who hated with a raw, passionate hatred and doubtless wished to see her dead. "It's been so long since we've seen each other."

"Not long enough." She snarled.

"Don't be so spiteful, Nathalie," Libitina smirked. "After all, what exactly did I do that made you so bitter towards me? If my memory serves me right, I seem to recall you use to admire and adore me like another big sister."

"The girl whom I use to care for and adore is long gone and you know it, Libitina. She died the moment she received the great power and changed into a monster. I hate you for a number of reasons, but the top of the list _is killing my sister_, you cruel monster!"

Like usual, Libitina wasn't affected by the insults and smiled at them as if they were compliments. She cocked her head to one side, her cruel smile growing wide into a smirk. "I'm going to show you something very interesting. The last words your sister said to me before I slaughtered her."

Libitina flicked her hand, and a shadow rose besides, growing taller and forming into the shape of a young woman no older than twenty-two. Beautiful with her fair skin complexion, breathtaking silver eyes that were beautiful as the moon, pale blonde hair, and she was dressed in her Winx outfit: a sparkling bluish-silver moon one-shoulder top and mini-shorts, with knee-high boots of the same color. She wore her hair in two pigtails with light blue tube ties. She also wears light blue cuff wrist bands and a headband of the same color. Her wings are three leaflets with the color of powder blue with teal tips.

Beautiful yes, but there was such a sadness haunting and raw in her eyes that gave Nathalie chills as she looked into the eyes of her older sister. To make matters worse, Chelsea had serve wounds inflicted on her body, a nasty punch to the right eye, and blood was flowing from her stomach she gripped tightly with her arms.

"Please Libitina," It killed Nathalie to listen to her sister's voice usually warm and bubbly cracked raw with the pain she was suffering and sounding so small and helpless. "If you cannot show mercy to us, then please show it to our families. Please spare Nathalie. She is so young and doesn't deserve such a cruel fate. Please spare her and my…children."

Libitina snapped her fingers and the Chelsea figure melted back to the ground, turning back to a dark shadow. Her eyes looked over at Nathalie who was no longer paying attention, lowering head down and letting all her raw emotions come out from the tears streaming down her face and sobs shaking her petite body and escaping from her mouth. "Now imagine my surprise, at the exact moment I came to killing her, I find out one of my ex-best friends was pregnant with a child she given birth to. And more than one child."

"Damn you, witch!" Nathalie yelled, her words choked up by her sobs.

Ignoring her, she continued, "I was aware she was married. After all she threw one of the most beautiful weddings at her castle during the late summer of August before senior year. An all white wedding with the blushing bride wearing a gorgeous strapless white dress, me and the rest of the girls the bridesmaids and Luna the maid of honor, and the boys the ushers and best man, and you the adorable flower girl. Tell me at least? Were they boys or girls?"

"She gave birth to twins two days before they went off to battle to fight with you," Nathalie mumbled. "She had to do the c-section and it taken so much out of her, but she still made up her mind about fighting. Her friends, me, and her husband were all presented to witness the miracle of birth and watched her giving birth to the most beautiful pair of twins I ever seen before. A beautiful baby girl named after Luna and because she had the exact moon-like eyes as her mother and a handsome baby boy named after his father. The twins' parents were absolutely fearful for their children, unsure whether or not you would kill them once you were done with the. Chelsea trusted me to take care of them. I loved my niece and nephew more than a heartless villain like yourself can ever dream, but whenever I looked at them tears would sting my eyes because I felt so sorry for them. They know their parents only through newspaper articles, family tress, pictures, and my memories. Because of you two innocent children never got the opportunity to know their parents."

"Ho-hum," was all Libitina had to say. "My father was out of our lives before Haley gotten to know what bum of a father he was. And Flora's little sister never had the chance to really know their father."

"That's because Alaric spelled him with a deadly curse that killed him, all which is leading back to you!"

Libitina had nothing left to say to the pathetic woman and left her alone with her tears and sadness. She spared a glance at Ms. Faragonda and Ms. Griffin as she walked past their cells and was about to left.

"Enjoy all the fun and power you have now, Libitina," Ms. Faragonda warned. "I can assure you, it will not last long before my girls and Saladin's boys come back to save us all from your hell. They are just as brave as relatives were, and will stop you."

Libitina only laughed the sound painful and brittle. "And I can assure you, just like their relatives, they will all die. I'll slaughter right where they stand before they get a chance to hurt me."

There was at lease one person who wasn't a prisoner like her mother was, but still was forced to stay at the castle. Little Rose had woken the moment Flora had done the prophecy of her birth, sensing something horrible has happened but saw it was already far too late.

The next thing she knew Libitina came into the protection room with an dozen army of beings from the shadow behind, bursting the doors open with a bolt of darkness and Rose quickly hid behind the couch. Libitina stood still for a moment, her eyes scanning the place till a dark smile spread across her face when she saw a frightened Rose coming out from her hiding place, trying to hide her fear and look brave.

"Who are you?" Rose asked. "I know you're not my sister."

"Technically I'm close to it," Libitina smiled pleasantly walking over to the little girl, squatting down and using one hand to caress the girl's cheek. "My name is Libitina."

Against her will and her ignored cries and protest, Libitina brought her back to her castle. Only Rose wasn't placed in a cell like her mother was; instead the Shadow carried her almost gently to a room down the hall on the forty floor near the throne room. The room was reminded her of the room in fairy tales where the beautiful princess would sleep in with its' gigantic size, the ivory white and shimmering gold theme from the walls, to the mirror, and the queen-size canopy bed with silken gold drapes. There was a dresser and walk-in closet filled in with clothes and shoes just her size, beautiful flowers from blossoming black roses more beautiful than anything the young girl has ever seen before to sweet-smelling peonies in beautiful, priceless vases, and a huge treasure chest in front of the bed filled with wonderful dolls and toys.

"If you near anything," Rose jumped from the sudden sound and turned back, watching Libitina with her arms folded against her chest and looking around the room, avoiding her eyes. "You can call one of my demons and they'll do whatever to assist you. You are never to leave this room, but there is a small bathroom next door you can use which is next to your closet, and your meals will be brought to your room."

"Wait!" Rose called out. "Why did you bring here? Where's my mommy? Where's Flora? Are you going to kill me?"

Libitina smiled as she looked down at her, the smile so twisted and wicked Rose was shivering from the frightening, cold chills tingling in her body. "So many questions for such a little girl. I have reasons for bringing you here. Reasons for me to you and you to possibly find out. Enjoy your stay."

Without any glance or saying anything more, Libitina left Rose alone in what was going to be her new room and as the door slammed shut, Rose could hear keys turning in its' locks. She ran over to her bed, flung herself on it, and cried her eyes out while holding her pillow tightly against her chest.

As Libitina walked down the hall and routed a corner, she saw an unexpected guest leaning against the wall, smiling crookedly. Rolling her eyes, she sighed as she continued walking with him now beside her.

"Mind telling the point of taking the little girl. Why not put her to work at the mines or make a mini statue of you? Or have her share the special cell with her mother?" Alaric asked.

"I have intentions for bringing the girl here," Libitina simply answered. "Reasons you do not need to know of."

Alaric stared at his lover for a moment or two before asking, his voice soft and gentler, "Is it because she looks and reminds you of your little sister? Haley, was it?"

He saw his sudden question caught her off guard, watching as Libitina's harden face crumpled for a moment before quickly hardening back into expressionless stone. "I have my intentions for keeping her here. Intentions you don't need to be aware of, thank you very much," Slowly a sly grin dazzled her face as she turned to Alaric again. "But there is a positive side of the child being here, Alaric. Remember when you met Flora for the first time when she was four with the intentions of kidnapping her? Wanting her teach her everything wonderful about being evil. Well now you have a new student, whom I'm more than sure will eventually be willing to learn from the same man who helped me see the light of being so bad."

Alaric thought about it for a moment and slowly a smile was starting to spread across his face, as he was beginning to get into the idea. Looking up at Libitina, his smile widen as he wrapped both arms around her waist and brought her close to him. "Was it about you that always make me want even more?"

Cocking her head to one side while brushing her hair away from her eyes, Libitina made her face thoughtful as she pretended to think of a number of suggestions. "Could it be because I'm so beautiful? Or is it because you think I'm so naughty?"

"Both are so good. You make so hot, I can barely stop." The two villains shared a dark grin.

It has been a full, official week since Libitina came to power, making each day more miserably terrible and devastatingly painful than the last. Time at the Dark Dimension was incredibly slower than regular time, with every second seeming to go on to feel like a full hour. So a week in regular time was four full months at the Dark Dimension.

Other than Rosalina, the Trix witches, and the ghouls, the only other person who was so happy with the outcome of this was Alaric. He felt like the character he mostly hated from books and movies: the happiest guy in the world. Everything was going so great. The universe was being taken over by evil and darkness, everything terribly good and sweet was wiped off, and most importantly the girl he loves was here to stay now and forever.

The minute the universe was her to command and control, Libitina had turned her attention back to Alaric. A smile that was crossed between slyness and shyness lifted up the corners of her beautiful lips as she took his hand and led him to the room where they shared. She pushed him down on the bed, straddled his hips as she looked down at him with a smirk, and they let themselves go that night.

Rosalina may like having fun, but she also has her limits so they didn't exactly go all the way. But they did share innumerable kisses that were sometimes deep and slow, soft and gentle, but mostly passionate and hot as hell, and in all those kisses Alaric would muster all the love and longing he felt for her since her tragic death. The kisses would become so deep and hot, they were slowly peeling off each other's clothes. He could never forget the soft touch of her beautiful body, how he couldn't stop caressing every inch possible and kissing her everywhere while wanting more.

Alaric awaken late afternoon, turning around to his left to meet Rosalina's sleeping face but saw the bed was empty except for him. Stretching out his arms and slowly sitting up, he looked around the room and saw the only other person in the room besides him was a female-shaped Shadow Demon straightening up the room and drawing back the curtains.

"Morning sir." She turned back to Alaric, bowing low before him like he was royalty.

"You," he addressed her as. "Where is the queen?"

"My lady is in her chambers, getting ready for the day."

Rolling his eyes at her choice of words, thinking he had to remind the Shadow Demons this was no longer the year of 1138; Alaric thanked her and got ready for the day. He took a quick shower, got dressed in his favorite white suit, and went over to Rosalina's room.

Libitina's room was pretty much the same as the one Rose was living at and very fantastic. The ceiling was decorative with a wooden lacework spun like an intricate spider's web against the ivory plaster. The walls were paneled in dark polished wood and hung with tapestries that glowed bright with vivid colors. The room was dominated by a magnificent four-poster bed hung crimson curtains that stretched double her height, nearly touching the ceiling. The windows were double-door leading outside to the balcony where they overlooked the entire castle and could see progress happening at the planet next to where the slaves were working away. A wall-length, walk-in closet filled with her old clothes and the new ones she had servants made and he bought her so she would still keep in style, including three full-length closets. All the furniture was solid and heavy-looking, the chairs and stools padded with crimson upholstery, the chest of drawers laid out with small personal things.

Alaric quickly hid underneath the bed when he heard a door opening, and saw Libitina dressed in a red bathrobe with a towel wrapped around her wet hair emerging from the bathroom. He smirked to himself as he watched her, after spending a good two minutes brushing and drying her long hair, walk into her closet and come back out with a new set of clothes in her hands. He supposed he was being a pervert, but she was so beautiful and addicting, which was why he had to keep quiet as she untied the knot of her robe and let it fall to the ground. She first put on her black strapless bra and panties, then slipped on an emerald green black-lace trim corset, a black mini skirt, and fishnet panty-hoses underneath black leather boots.

Libitina walked over to her mirror and focused only on her face as she put on some little makeup. Dabbing some cherry-colored lipstick on her puckered-up lips, she said "Enjoying the show?"

"How did you know it was me?" Alaric asked as he came out from the bed. "I was quiet as a mouse."

"Yes, well it's lucky for me I know exactly what you're like," Rosalina smirked, still focusing on painting her lips with lipstick. "Perverted, sneaky, and loves seeing me nude with no clothes."

Wrapping his arms around her, he kissed her neck slowly and rested his head on her shoulder. "Can you possibly blame me for wanting to see more? You're truly a beautiful girl who always gets and deserves everything she wants and more."

"Everything I want and more, huh?" She turned back to face him, a smirk on her face as she snuggled up closer to him. "That sounds nice."

Their lips met in a long, deep kiss which quickly became incredibly hot as passion and roughness was soon added to the kiss, quickly emerging from simple kiss to hot make-out session that resulted in the two of them falling into the bed with Alaric straddling Libitina and hungrily attacking her neck. She ran her fingers through his fine hair, moans seeping from her lips alerting him she wanted more.

Their lips came back together with full force, filled with hunger desire and lust. Alaric slowly pulled his lips away from hers, looking down at his beloved and smiling as he saw the lust in her eyes and anger for him pulling back. He cupped her delicate face in her hands, slowly brushed her lips with his, and smiled as he murmured "I will always love you forever."

"Forever is such a long time." Libitina said.

"Not long enough," he answered. "I don't love you, Libitina. I'm addicted to you, always wanting more and more. I've been in love with you ever since the moment I met you and knew you were the girl I wanted to spend eternity with. Just you and me together forever. I want to be the only one for you. Will you marry me, Libitina?"

He expected her for to smile, pull him down, and kiss him with the lustful passion she had in her. That was how he imagined things would be, but instead…Libitina looked at him and not the way she always looks at him, but glaring at him like he was speaking a language she couldn't understand or sprouting three more heads.

"Say again please?" she asked.

"I'm addicted to you as well as in love with you. I want to be the only one for you. Will you do me the greatest honor of marrying me?"

Now she was the one pulling away, pushing Alaric aside and straightening herself as she got up from the bed, leaving him more bothered and hot.

"Rose-"

"Do not call me that!" she said harshly, but then softened when she saw the hurt expression in Alaric's eyes. "Alaric…I thank you so much for everything you've done for me. I have so much fun with you, but I cannot marry you."

"What?" he asked, baffled. "Why not?"

"Because I'm not in love with you." Was all she said to say, those deadly words hanging so heavy in the air and were sharp as a knife, cutting Alaric's heart into pieces, blood of pure pain leaking from the grave wounds. "I've never been in love with you. I thought you were aware of that."

"I was aware of you being with both me and Julio, and I only liked that because you were hurting him. Seeing Julio in pain was pure joy to me. But once he killed you, I thought you would be over him."

"First, I _am_ over him. Second, I'm sorry if you assume things but you know what they say about assuming things. When you assume, you only make an ass out of you."

She went back to getting ready while Alaric only stood still, watching her with hurt and sadness filling his eyes, unable to believe what he had just heard.

"I'm not in love with you. I've never been in love with you." Those words were echoing repeatedly inside his head, stabbing a deep wound of pain into his heart each time he would hear it.

"I did everything I could to help get you back, spent centuries looking for Flora, and I did it out from love. Because I was in love with you. I loved you much more that a dim-wit like Julio can ever muster in his lifetime, loved you more than you can imagine, and thought once I did what needed to be done you would fall in love with you and wanted to be with me."

Sighing with annoyance heard clearly in her tone, Rosalina turned back to Alaric, looking more frustrated than lustful like she was a few moments ago with coldness icing her dark red eyes. "Let me make this as clear as I can. I never have been or ever will be in love with you. You thought Julio was an idiot for thinking he needed to rescue me, but really, Alaric, you were just as great of an idiot as he was. You may have been smart to accept I liked having both you and him for me to play with, but you're nuts for actually thinking everything would change between us and I would fall in love with you once I came back."

He was frozen like a statue as she took a step forward to him, caressed his cheek, and made her lips into an innocent pout. "You're fun and cute as a puppy, Alaric, but not that cute."

Without saying another word to him, Libitina gave him a cold smile with a wink as she giggled mischievously and left him alone in her room while she made her leave.

She never loved him. She didn't care about him at all, only wanting as someone to use as a doll for her to play with while she was bored and in the need for amusement. She didn't care about him at all, only wanting a toy and someone to do her dirty work for her.

"Screw you." He murmured. He could now see what a fool he was. Falling for a girl who has never been in love with him, giving her everything she wanted and treating her like a spoiled princess, letting her use him like he was worthless. He at first thought it was hot and interesting she was turning as evil as him. But now he could see the evil-girl thing wasn't just an act; he created a monster.

_If Rosalina wants to play hard ball, then bring it on, bitch_, Alaric thought.

**A/N: How about that? A guy with a broken heart, Rosalina proving how much a sweet and evil witch she is, and finding out a former Winx girl had kids. Can you guys guess who baby daddy of Chelsea's babies is? Hope you love the chapter and will make the next one as soon as I can. **


	25. Chapter 25

Earth was a strange place to the fairies and Specialists with the exception of Bloom only because she had lived here all her life and was properly accustomed to the environment. The girls have been here twice, one for skipping school and hitting a club and the other was going to a cool Halloween party, both having very odd moments and unexpected endings, but they still weren't used to the fact they couldn't use that much magic. But in a way it made sense.

Who knows what someone walking down the street would say if they saw a couple of fairies carrying their boyfriends as they soared through the sky? That was either made the gang attention-worthy and have everyone staring at them like a new test subject yet to be discovered or land that the person who saw them in the loony-bin if they repeated about what they saw to another.

Unlike the girls though, it took quite an awhile for the boys to adjust to things and see Earth was most definitely not like their homes. They were staring in astonishment as they watched people wheel by them on skateboards and motorcycles that weren't hovering in the air, that the cars were nothing like ships they were used to controlling and fixing, and had to get used to the fact no one has ever heard of Specialists before.

Luckily it was still a busy school month in Gardenia, so Bloom didn't have to worry about Mitzy and her clones questioning about the new guests she brought along. Stella had them be teleported at Bloom's mother's flower shop, which thankfully was empty of people expect her parents who listened politely as they told them everything that has happened to them recently and what was going on at Magix.

"The most important thing is all of you were able to make it out, alive." Vanessa tried to comfort, but saw it wasn't moving anyone.

"Wish me could say the same for our family and other friends." Stella murmured, unaware of loud the words coming out from her mouth were.

Until they could figure out how and when exactly they were going to beat Libitina, save Flora, and not the mention the rest of the universe, it was better that they stayed at Earth for a little awhile. Knowing Libitina, as Helia recalled from Julio's memory, she would know exactly where they were if they remained at Magix but, unlike the last time when she knew where her friends were and decided not to attack them, she would swarm them with demons to finish them off for her. The only problem was, including Bloom, they were eleven people and Bloom's house only had enough room for a few. They could go to a hotel, but none of them had any money except for Stella with her credit cards that wouldn't work here. Bloom's parents, being the kind people they were, helped paid for two huge suites at a nice inn with five bedrooms for the girls to share and one for the boys across the hall, and said they would be more than happy to help with anything they can.

There wasn't much to do at suites, certainly not unpacking since they had no luggage with them in the first place. A few days had pass and things were not going the way they wished it to be. The magical universe was still at the mercy of a powerful witch, who was no doubt laughing at all the pain and torment she was causing innocent people, and they still had absolutely no plan on how to defeat her.

"The problem is," Tecna conducted, taking a nibble of her honey chicken. "Libitina has an intense amount of power. According to my calculations, far more power than any villain we fought has ever hoped to have and is too powerful to defeat just by ourselves."

It was late midnight and they were all gathered around the living room in the girls' suite, dressed in their pajamas and eating the huge buffet of Chinese take-out they ordered.

After taking a few bites of his sesame noodles, Timmy continued where Tecna left off "Tecna and I had spent hours going over calculations on what success we would have against Libitina and our numbers turned out quite low."

"Are you sure?" Bloom asked, unable to believe it.

"Pretty sure," Tecna stated. "Data and logic don't lie, Bloom. Libitina is surrounded by bitter, negative emotions from her tormentors, which she sucks to add to her power and with each sucking, raw emotion her powers are increased ten times more. No doubt she killed people along the way, and according to the book a soul can increase her power by a thousand. With all that power verses even our Enchantix powers we would lose for sure."

"Then that's not good at all." Musa said.

"But are you really sure?" Sky questioned. "She was packed with power back then, but our relatives were able to beat her."

"They had thousands of rebel fighters to back up them up. Don't forget, Libitina has herbs of Shadow Demons to do the dirty work for her so she won't have to lift a finger," Timmy said. "Everyone we know who would be able to help is either captured or killed. We're on our own. If we had an army to back up us, then we might have a slightly better chance. But success without an army is very low."

"Extremely low," Tecna clarified. "About less than four percent. And that's only if the boys use absolutely they learned in their years at Red Fountain and us, including you, Nabu use every drop of magic in our bodies against her, and somehow are lucky enough to get to Magix without getting captured or killed first."

"Libitina knew exactly where Melody and the others were, but decided to play nice and not hunt them down," Musa recalled. "But after what happened between them in the end, I have a very strong feeling she's not going to be so nice anymore."

"You're about that one, Musa," Layla agreed. "She'll thrown us in the dungeons in two seconds flat and make us chew toys for her pets, or just kill us right where we're standing."

"There has to be some way to defeat her." Riven grumbled.

"If there was a fairy friend Ms. F knows on Earth who can help us, then we would have a good chance of beating her." Stella said, saying her thoughts out loud.

"As great as that would be, Stella, wishes don't seem to be on our side." Bloom said.

"I just don't understand," Brandon said. "Stella, you said when you first met Bloom here on Earth, there was a strong magical connection around here. There could be a chance there might be another fairy here, too."

"Yes, but Bloom was born at Sparks and was only brought here for protection." Sky reminded.

"It's true that they were so fairies on Earth over hundreds of years ago, when it decided Earth use could a little magic," The girls spent a month of Ms. Faragonda's Magix history discussing it, and the subject seemed to shock all the students that there were actually magical beings who lived in a non-magical dimension, at the last place where anyone would ever find one. Tecna was so fascinated by the subject, she read and downloaded everything piece and article written about it and actually knew nearly everything from heart thanks to all the reading she has done. "Flora's own aunt, Diana, was chosen to be one of the twelve fairy Guardians to come to Earth, and serve legendary queen, Morgana, but soon they were being hunted by fairy hunters who wanted their powers. Diana was able to make it out alive, but there was no word about the others. Legend says after the hunters got what they wanted, the fairies were immediately killed or simply disappeared without a trace."

"Wish they were alive though, so then they can help us," Bloom murmured. "We're really on our own."

"But we'll find a way." Nabu was certain of it, but the others were so convinced like he had hope they would be and Riven was rolling his eyes at his friends' enthusiasm.

Bloom stole a glance at Helia, whose back was turned to them as he watched the fierce storm brewing outside. He had pretty much been quiet all day and night, was distant and mostly withdrawal from his friends since they've arrived here on Earth, and hasn't even touched his food that was now lukewarm.

She excused herself from the table while her friends tried to figure out a plan and went over to him, just standing behind him and waiting. He hasn't moved an inch from his still position even though he could feel her behind him. Most would say the gesture was cold, but Bloom wasn't most people and a bit more understanding.

He was in much pain like the rest of them were from the loss of someone close and dear to him.

"If you want to talk, I'm a pretty good listener," When he made no reply, Bloom only sighed and continued "I miss her a lot, too. She was my roommate for the past three years and quickly grown into the sister I never had. When the witches stole my power and I found out the truth about myself, I felt so horrible. I was given the responsible for caring for the power, but let witches who are descendants of the same witches who destroyed my planet. I was the princess of this amazing planet, but I couldn't even protect it. There are so many things in life I wish I could switch back in time."

"Every time I close my eyes, every passing second of the frigging day, I always see what happened," Helia said, his voice cracked like it was bone-dry but low with such sadness and pain Bloom could never imagine another person feeling. "I see Flora stepping back from us before that shield formed around us; see her walking up those steps, and disappearing right before our eyes. And it's all my fault."

"Helia-" Bloom was cut off by him.

"When I died and knew I was going to be reborn again, I swore I was going to do everything to protect her. But once again, I failed and let her fall into the hands of that devil demon."

He tried everything he could to escape the horrible memories, but they were always there to haunt him and repeatedly showing that horrible moment till pain was so much he was so numb to the touch. Everything on this odd planet never failed to bring her to his mind. Every time he would pass a planet, he would picture her humming happily as she watered it. Every beautiful flower always had him thinking of countless times she would lean down to get a sweet whiff of the flowers and laughing her musical laughter under her breath. The color emerald reminded him of her breathtaking eyes, like the shade of caramel would always bring to mind her beautiful, long hair. Once he saw a young woman coming out from the flower shop carrying a vase of fresh daises, her emerald eyes twinkling, caramel hair shimmering from the bright sun, and the soft smile brightening her face he nearly forgotten how to breathe for a moment. But of course, the pain-sticking disappointment would slam against him hard when he realized she wasn't her.

He tried not to think about her, in a desperate attempt to escape the numb pain, but it was difficult not to so with things tracing back to her and the memories rushing to his head, thinking about everything they've been through together. In both lifetimes, his dull life was suddenly brightened by the appearance of a breathtaking angel descending from heaven above. Fighting evil together with their friends, him helping her believe in herself and watching her blossoming into the true flower she was, finally confessing they had feelings for each other, and sharing so many moments together and kisses that never failed to feel as magnificent as the first one. Her face turning bright red whenever she saw him staring at her, the small and soft smile of embarrassment lifting the corners of her beautiful lips as she was given a compliment, and the twinkle gleaming in her eyes a person would be have to be blind to miss it.

After what had become of Rosalina and their tragic fates, he was given chance to redo the horribleness of the past and make sure the past won't interfere with their future. That was what he hoped her, that was the only thought in his mind the moment that lightening bolt went through his chest and he was dead, but in the end he had failed. Twice he let the love of his life fallen into the hands of the cursed devil-demon who ruined everything the moment he came into the picture and he had failed her.

"I know what I saw," he murmured, and Bloom had to lean in closer to hear what he was saying. "The scene keeps playing over and over again in my head, but…I still feel her. There's such a strong connection between us, so I can feel her but even with the feeling the connection is getting dimmer. It feels like she's still out there, like she's still here somehow and she's not really gone."

"That's because she isn't," The conversation chatter came to a end as heads quickly turned around to see the blonde-haired, beautiful devil himself coming out from the shadows with that pleasant yet smug smile on his face Helia desperately wished he would knocked right out.

"Alaric!" they all gasped while Helia was silent, gritting his teeth so tightly he was sure they would break.

"Hello kiddies," he greeted.

They didn't wait for him to explain what he was doing here or how he found them; after everything he has done the only thing they wanted from him was to see him dead. Musa quickly slammed him against the wall with a sonic clap, and Layla, following her friend's lead, stuck him tightly onto the wall with her Morphix glue.

"_You son of a bitch!_" Helia exclaimed. It was clear the tone of his voice showed how angry he was, and Timmy and Brandon had to hold him back from doing something stupid.

"I don't know what the hell you're doing here, but I do know it is that you made a huge mistake coming here." Layla told him, speaking for all of them.

It was clear from body language, voice tone, and facial expressions they were more than angry with him. Even the word _furious_ doesn't seem to muster up all the hatred they felt for him. But seeing so hateful and angry was something incredibly for him not to smile at.

"You all have every reason in all the realms to hate me-"

"You bet your ass, you bastard!" Stella cut him off, her words low and cold as ice.

Alaric carried speaking like he wasn't interrupted, saying "No doubt you want to unleash all your anger and hatred on me, but I come bearing very interesting information regarding your friend you might want to hear first."

"He's lying!' Tecna immediately put in; with no doubt in her mind Alaric was placing them into some sort of trap. "We should take him down now!"

Everyone else, Helia especially, was more than on board with Tecna's suggestion while Bloom, on the other hand, was a bit more open-minded to things. "Listen we don't know exactly for sure."

Tecna looked at the red-head dumbstruck; like she misheard her or was speaking a foreign language she couldn't understand. "Bloom, let me refresh your memory. It's because of him that Flora's gone and the whole universe has been taken over by the angel of darkness."

"I'm going to have to go with Tecna on this one, Bloom," Layla glared Alaric down with cold hatred blazing in her eyes, wanting nothing more than to blast him clear to another dimension. "This guy has done nothing but gives us trouble the second we met him."

"For all we know he probably alerted Libitina where we're at and she and her goons are waiting for us outside the door right now," Musa said. "Or going to destroy us right now to save her the damn trouble."

Alaric thought about the suggestion for a moment, weighting it in. "Tempting."

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I say we get rid of this asshole once and for all!" Riven reached into his pocket and withdrawal his phantom sword, powering the weapon up.

"I'm with you." Nabu and the guys wasted no time bringing out their weapons and the girls-with the expectation of Bloom- transformed, with their powerful spells conquered up in their hands.

"Listen for a minute," Bloom had to raise her voice to get their attention. When she had gotten it, she lowered her voice just a bit but still kept it firm. "We have _a lot_ of reasons not to trust and hate Alaric. So many reasons that the list is endless," Bloom turned to scowl at him, seeing him rolling his eyes at her, and then quickly turned back to her friends. "But if he knows anything, anything he's willing to share, that could be the slightest chance of saving the universe and Flora, then we should at least hear what he has to stay. It can't hurt us."

"Or could get us killed." Riven said, ignoring the darkly irritated glare Bloom gave him.

The fairies and Specialists were at odds; unsure which would be better for them to do. Alaric has caused so much drama, tension, and trouble for them, was someone so cold and evil they was barely anything to be considered good in him, and was the reason why their families and friends are now in hell and their favorite nature girl was gone now while he was smirking away. He was scum, the son of the heartless and wicked Devil himself, but…if he did know something that could help turn things around, then hearing him out would at lease…be something.

After exchanging private looks with everyone, Bloom nodded and turned back to Alaric, instructing, "Thirty seconds. You have thirty seconds to explain what seem to know."

"Thirty seconds is all I need." Alaric simply said.

"What do you mean Flora isn't really gone?" Helia said.

"We saw her," Musa said. "We saw her…" It was extremely hard to explain what had happened to their friend, but in a way it was like she had become sort of a portal. But better term would be their souls switched, freeing one while imprisoning the other.

"Before I tell you anything, there is something you must know first. I believe the proper way for you to know is to see. Close your hands, held up your hand, and think about the worst memories or thoughts in your life. Memories that anger you, thoughts that make your body tense and filled with hatred each time something related to the particular moment."

For a moment they all thought he was joking with his silly instructions, but seeing the serious sternness in his expression made them believe otherwise. One by one, from Bloom all the way Helia, each person held up his/her left hand while they slowly closed their eyes as they pictured their most horrible memories, which not only make them sad but make them angry.

Bloom thought about her birth family, how her parents disappeared after trying to protect their planet and her sister, Daphne dying from protecting her. Sky thought how he allowed himself to be under Diasporo's spell, doing such horrible things by her command including breaking the heart of the love of his life. Stella thought about when her parents first told her they were separating, so eager to get away from each other they nearly forgotten they had a daughter who needed them both while Brandon thought about the possibility of losing his Stella to some other guy, like a prince with tons of money and power to get her everything and more while a poor squire like himself can never do such a things. Musa thought the death of her mother and her death as the end of music in her home, the end of something familiar to her and was a huge of her life and who she was. Riven thought about all the horrible things his horrible mother put him through, those things including when she decided she couldn't put raising a son and left him alone before he was even old enough to understand the world was anything but the crazed fairytale crap she was talking about. Tecna thought about the world with no technology, no computers, numbers or anything relating to science and how her whole world would go mad as Timmy thought about how their relationship was extremely close to calling it quits, how he blamed himself for being an idiot and not manning up. Layla and Nabu were oddly thinking the same things, how they didn't really had a childhood thanks to their duties as a princess and prince that required them to never have any real fun, always focus on being proper, and being seen and not heard unless they are spoken to. Helia was thinking about everything him as Julio and Rosalina and how things with him and Flora ended as horribly as they did in the past, all thanks to the devil-demon standing in front of him.

They were all so concentrated on horrible events taking place in the past, they failed to notice the strong energy vibrating from their bodies, the dark yet vivid bright light radiating around their bodies.

Noticing their process, Alaric nodded and said "Open your eyes."

Slowly they opened their hands and were staring in astonishment- their hands were all engulfed by fierce flames looking ready to burst and explode, but not just any flames. They were flames dark as midnight.

"I think you all know only one power that can do that sort of thing," Alaric commented.

It was all clear what and who was responsible for giving the power in the first place.

"How?" Bloom asked.

"While You were knocked out by those flowers, Flora decided to play nurse and heal all of you with her fairy dust, then decided to keep you extra safe by giving you some energy from the Midnight Raven. Not all of it, but definitely more than enough to defend yourself."

"Which means you should have enough power to fight, Libitina!" Stella proclaimed as they lit their flames hands die out.

"Sure, then while you're at it, you might wanna think about making your wills and arranging your funerals," Alaric sarcastically remarked with a snort, then deliberately ignored the chilled glance Stella flashed him. "You may be stronger than you were before, but you're still no match for Libitina. She's much stronger not only in power, but also in physically with the strength of over a thousand strong men combined. She'll snap your neck like twig in two seconds flat and tear you limb from limb."

"Okay then, so fighting is out, but what is this you were talking about Flora?" Brandon said.

"What this you're talking about she's still alive?" Musa questioned. "She can't be! She disappeared; we all know that because we saw what happened."

"Flora has fulfilled the prophecy of her birth," Alaric told him what they already knew. "That part of her is gone forever, but…there is still a part, a very frail and delicate part, that still exists and is living as we speak."

They didn't make a reply, on the account they were all staring at him speechless and dumbstruck, but in their eyes he could make out a question: _what?_

"You mean she's trapped inside Libitina, right?" Bloom asked.

Alaric shook his head, watching as shock was filling in their eyes. "Once again I must be the one to explain some reasoning to your dim-witted minds. Libitina was the original bearer of her soul, then when your friend was born she was the one who took charge of that soul. To make it easier for you, think of a cookie that you spilt right through the middle or perhaps yin and yang is a much better example. You have one half and another half. Two girls with the same soul, two halves of one soul. When the prophecy was fulfilled, the yang-Libitina-become whole once more and filled the whole soul with nothing but her dark aura. Yin-Flora-instantly was erased from the soul. She wasn't completely destroyed though; she simply went away somewhere."

"Where?" Helia asked. "Magix?" His mind immediately thought back to the green-eyed raven that helped lead him and his friends safely to Alfea, with that strong distinctive look in her eyes reminding him so much of the same look he would always see in Flora's eyes.

"Linphea?" Layla guessed.

"It is not a realm you know of or is at any planet in this dimension," He explained. "She's at a place only I know of. It's a dangerous place and an even more dangerous journey to come across, but I'll be willing to help lead you there. Choose which three of you will accompany me on this journey."

"I'll go," Helia turned to his friends to explain his reasons. "I lost her twice already and I don't plan to make it a third. If there is even the slightest chance of saving Flora, then I at least need to try. Even if that means-" He frowned at Alaric, who simply winked and smiled a bit smugly, too smugly for his own good in his opinion. "Putting up with him."

"This is going very interesting," Alaric said. "That makes one. Who else will be the brave souls for this little adventure?"

"I will." Bloom stepped forward, not a fragment of fear in her determined eyes, the eyes of someone on a mission and was determined to win. The Dragon fire may not be strong enough to take on the Midnight Raven by itself, but it was still strong and powerful, the perfect thing they were going to need for a mission like this.

"I'm going, too," Layla said. "It'll be good to have extra Winx just in case."

"Alright then, that makes three," Sky said. "Bloom, Layla, and Helia will go with Alaric to rescue Flora and bring her back while we go back to the Dark Dimension and take down Libitina."

"You are really this much of a buffoon?" Alaric asked. "It's only fair to warn you how much I know Libitina. I know she'll be waiting for us, picking the right moment to attack you like a predator after her prey. I know she won't make the same mistake twice because she is a very fast learner. Also, I know the moment you step into Magix; you'll all be killed before you can take in a breath."

"Well, then how you suggest we take her down then?" Musa frowned. "Since you're the expert and all?"

Chuckling under his breath, he smiled and answered "That's because I am. You all must understand this, learn it and drill into those tiny minds of yours. Libitina is someone who _loves_, absolutely loves playing games and using people as her dolls. This game is obviously fun by the way she's addicted to it, but as much fun as it is it's also extremely dangerous. So dangerous, very few are lucky enough they aren't severely tormented or suffered brutal deaths. Now I myself am not a true master of the game like Libitina is, but…I do know a few cheat sheets around it. Like how you might have a much higher chance than you already have if you really wish to take kill Libitina."

"We don't want to kill her," Bloom said. "There's not telling what kind of effect it can have on Flora. We just want to take her down."

Alaric shrugged, as if both were of the same thing. "Nevertheless, you are going to need some sort of backup if you plan to face Libitina."

"You mean you?" Stella questioned coldly.

"No," He pleasantly smiled. "I'm going to be too busy helping your friends get back your flower girl, but…I do know someone else who could be somewhat of assistance to you."

Alaric didn't reveal anything more about what he had in mind or said anything else except telling them to get dressed. The storm Helia was watching minutes ago from the window was taking full affect outside with rain pouring endlessly in huge lone drops heavily from the thick gray skies, the winds blowing fierce and so cold a person would be chilled to the bone if they stepped outside for even a second, and lightening bolts streaking across the sky. Except for Alaric, everyone else dressed in heavy, thick sweaters and pants, jackets and heavy raincoats, but as they stepped outside and walked through the streets through Gardenia with Alaric leading the way it didn't protect them one bit from the terrible weather outside.

They were standing in front of a house near the woods, which was the only house in sight. The house had a sort of adorable quite-ness to it with the blue/white trim and Victorian style of houses back in the day, and was big in an 2-story height. Everyone else was soaked and chilled through the bone while Alaric managed to stay dry with the rain pouring beside him instead of falling on him.

"You drag us all the way here to look at a house?" Stella demanded.

_Yep, she is definitely Nathalie's relative_, Alaric thought with a double roll of his eyes as he saw the young princess shared some identical traits with her elder yet terribly annoying relative. Ignoring her, he stepped forward and knocked on the door loudly, literally banging the door, and then waited patiently for someone to come answer it.

"I'm coming, I'm coming! Hold your damn horses!" The lights inside the house went on and ten seconds after that the door swung open, revealing a man in between his later thirties and early forties. Judging by the fact his hair was a tumble mess, trail of crusted drool was by his left cheek, and he was dressed in his pajamas, he was enjoying good night sleep till now. He eyed the girls and boys, saving Alaric for last, and looked at them all with narrowed, cool eyes showing nothing but annoyance and tiredness. "Can you I help you?"

"As a matter of fact you can," Alaric smiled. "I need to speak with her lovely, darling wife about a very important matter regarding something very crucial that might trigger her attention."

Unmoved by Alaric's pleasant smile and polite tone, then man rolled his tired eyes and grumbled, "Look, buddy, I'm not sure if you noticed but it is four o' clock in the morning. Whatever you need to talk to my wife about, it can wait till later in the morning when we're all fully awake for chatting. Now goodbye."

He swung the door over to slam to Alaric's face, but before it was completely closed, Alaric pushed it back hard and swung it wide open. Stepping inside uninvited, Alaric shoved the man hard to the ground and smirked down at his angry yet fearful face.

"What the hell-" His anger face was slowly melting away as he looked into the bright glow of Alaric's eyes, which were darker in a bright way and luminous.

"Now go tell your wife she has a visitor who has a very important message for her, and while you're at it, invite your daughter as well." Alaric commanded in a smooth, soothing voice.

The man shook his head, then quickly ran upstairs to call his wife and daughter. "Honey! Rox! You have a visitor!"

"So nice to see he has a good change of heart," Alaric turned back to the gang who were all frowning at him. "Unless you wish to stay wet and cold, I suggest you come inside."

As they stepped inside, a woman with another girl were heading downstairs. The woman was in her late thirties and didn't look all too happy to be woken up at this hour, but was pretty nevertheless with her timeless looks, unique dark violet eyes, and her chocolate brown hair tied up in a bun. The other girl was obviously her daughter, which can be easily told by the same exact shade eye color and familiar features in their faces. She looked at least fourteen, and, unlike her mother, her hair was hot pink with amber tips.

"Who on earth wants to talk at this hour-" The dark-haired woman stopped talking and was frozen in place as she looked up, soon holding out her hand to stop her daughter from taking another step down. The woman's shock-filled eyes slowly went from stunned to cool as they narrowed into slits. "Alaric."

"That's my name, don't wear it out," He smiled as her eyes chilled to ice-cold. "So good to see you again, Morgana. How long as it been? Days? Weeks? Centuries since you and I had a time to have a nice little chat."

"Not long enough." She frowned, her words cold and dripping with venom.

"You know her?" they asked him in unison as her daughter asked her "Mom, who is this guy?"

"Little Roxy," He acknowledged the girl with a slight smile and nod. "My, my, my. You have certainly grown."

Morgana quickly wrapped her arms around her daughter, as if to protect her from the harm Alaric was planning. "I suggest you and your friends leave my house immediately."

"We're not his friends." Tecna immediately put in.

"Fine," she regarded with a nod. "You all are welcomed to stay but he is leaving."

"Now is that any way to show Southern hospitality?" Alaric mocked, knowing he was pushing her buttons to a very high extreme.

"You have exactly five seconds to get out or else!" Morgana threatened.

"How about this? They stay here, you stay there, and I do-" There was no indications leading to any movement because he was too fat for their eyes to keep track of. Through flashes of white, Alaric was suddenly standing besides the staircase, his arms in a tight, choking bound around Roxy's neck, suffocating her. "This."

"Roxy!" Morgana gasped. "Don't you dare touch my baby!"

"The I suggest you act a bit nicer and give me some time to explain my business here," As his grip tightened, Roxy's face was turning purplish-blue from lack of oxygen, trying and failing to break free from his grip. "And I suggest you hurry. You of all people know how strong I am. And also know I can easily break a neck like snapping a toothpick."

"Alright, alright." Alaric smiled and let the girl finally go. Roxy fell to her knees in a heap, taking in sweet air and then quickly running into the arms of her mother.

"You didn't have to do that!" Layla said.

"Sweetie, in life sometimes you have to have a bit of a…compromise if you really want to go what you want." Alaric answered, then turned his attention back to Morgana. "Are you going to properly introduce yourself or shall I do that for you?"

"I will do that," Morgana said, taking the final step down the stairs and tightening the knot of her bed robe. "But before any introductions are made, you all are soaking wet and look cold. Roxy, show them to the living room while I make something for them."

The gang found themselves places to sit in the living room and were more than happy to unzip and take off their soaked through jackets. Roxy started up a toasty fire in the fire place, which everyone crowded around for some nice warmth, and helped her mom carry in a tray of homemade cake she whipped up, tea cups and mugs, and a big tea pot of hot chocolate toppled with whipped cream and sparkled with cinnamon, with a hint of rose.

Just smelling the delicious drink made Helia sad again as it reminded him of her wondrous scent. He turned the tea away and ate instead, taking a new nibble of the cake but only played with it.

"This is wonderful." Bloom said after tasting the drink.

"Thank you." Morgana smiled, erasing the harsh, serious lines from her face and making her look even more beautiful.

"I'm Roxy." Her daughter smiled warmly.

"I'm Bloom," Bloom introduced, pointing to each of her friends as she called out her friends. "My best girl friends Stella, Layla, Musa, and Tecna. My boyfriend, Sky, and his friends, Brandon, Timmy, Nabu, Riven, and Helia. I'm pretty sure you already know who Alaric."

"Unfortunately." She grumbled with a frown, rolling her eyes as he winked at her direction.

"Ms. Morgana," Helia said. "I don't want to be rude, but we really need your help. The only problem is…I'm not entirely sure you're going to believe us if we tell you what's going on."

"I know why you are here," The dark-haired woman took a sip of her hot chocolate; still aware of the shocked glares she was receiving from every direction. Opening her eyes, she smiled gently at their shocked expressions and said "Nathalie was right to warn me about having you come see me. She was always aware this day would have come, but I only wish she was wrong."

"You know Nathalie?" Stella asked. "Who are you?"

"I know Nathalie because she and I are very good friends," she answered. "I had known her for quite some time now, and she warned about the arrival of the dark queen. Warned me the reincarnation was already born and Alaric knew exactly where to find her, and that the universe was going to be destroyed and the angel of darkness was going to be vengeful, more powerful and stronger than ever."

"And unfortunately Nathalie was right," Helia said sadly, and they all explained everything that happened from Flora meeting Alaric at the bus station to the very recent activity, like Flora saying her final goodbye and doing the spell.

Even though Morgana was already aware of it, she wasn't fully repaired to hear it. She gasped, jumping up from her seat, and turned her attention to Alaric who avoided her eyes and the hatred glance she was sending him. "Do you realize Alaric what you have done? Think about what's happening now! No doubt people have already been killed already."

"Fifty-six thousand and counting," He answered, acting like the wise ass he was. "I know what I've done. I'm only trying to help them. But we need your help."

"Why do you need my mom's help?" Roxy asked. "From what you said this Libitina chick is one bad-ass witch and is way too powerful to beat."

"I'm aware what I said, little girl," Alaric answered. "But thing is your mother might be the kind of backup we may need."

"And why exactly would she be that?" Roxy said.

"Because, Roxy, I was once the queen of the same guardians who come to protect the human race and spread magic to Earth. Even though I give my title to another friend, I still have some of my powers."

"Wait a minute," Tecna slowly put down her cup as she got up from the floor and took small steps toward Morgana, smiling with excitement dazzling in her eyes as she closely looked at the dark-haired woman. "You're Morgana, aren't you? The same fairy who was queen of the Earth Guardian fairies."

"The one and only." She said proudly.

"No way."

"Unbelievable."

"That is so rad."

"But," Musa said. "I thought the earth fairies were long gone. Hunters came after them for power and then were wiped off the face of the Earth."

"Yes-" Alaric interrupted, before Morgana had a chance to speak. "This is woman is much older than she appears to be. She's over hundreds of years old, but still has the appearance of a thirty-something year old woman. Been watching humans nearly forever with her other sisters, then met grumpy grouch you had the pleasure of meeting, fell in love and produced that," he nodded his head toward a frowning Roxy. "Who is the last born-Earth fairy. The wizards did captured all the Earth Fairies by defeating them one by one and stealing their powers, but little Roxy was able to help free them and the fairies defeated the Hunters. Even though the other fairies went to return to their realms, a few stayed including Morgana. "

"You're a fairy, too?" Layla asked the young girl.

Roxy's frown soon was forgotten when the questioned was asked. Her cheeks reddened a bit and she smiled sheepishly, rubbing her hand against the back of her head. "Kind of yeah. I mean, I have some powers but I'm not as powerful as my mom."

"What kind of powers do you have?" Musa asked.

"Powers of animals. I have energies of every animal known to man, have a deep connection with animals, and I'm able to understand them as they understand me."

"So, will you please help us, Morgana?" Tecna pleaded.

She stared at every fairy, every young hero in training, and then looked at Alaric for the longest time before speaking again, "What exactly do you purpose?"

"I will take Helia, Layla, and Bloom to where Flora is while you and the rest of them take down Libitina. Libitina has her eyes set on everywhere and will know where we are unless there is some sort of a distraction."

"Then I am in." Morgana answered.

"But know this," Sky walked over to Alaric so they would met face-to-face, man-to-demon. "If anything happens to them, any of them, then I swear I will take you down."

"Pity threats from a pity man, how appropriate," Alaric turned his three companions who will be joining him for their little adventure. "The journey we will be taking leads to the underground kingdom you all known it as hell. It's a very dangerous mission those who go on it barely make it out halfway, much less back alive."

"We can handle it!" Bloom said, speaking for them all.

"Then you and Layla should at lease be dressed appropriately for this kind of journey," He snapped his fingers, and black currents were snaking around the girls' bodies from chest to bottom, melting away their clothes into a new set of khaki cargo vest-shirt, matching cargo cuffed-shorts, and mid-calf hiking boots. The most ironic thing it was the same set of the clothes they were wearing when they went to the dangerous underground Shadow Haunt to rescue the pixies.

He snapped his fingers again and a wide black portal sliced opened in front of them, blowing hot air into the room and nearly knocking everyone else to the ground. "Our ride is here," He went over to Stella and dropped an object in her hand; it was a simple golden ring with the same sinister, red mark of the Midnight Raven in the center. "It was created by the wizards who imprisoned the Midnight Raven. In a way, it's like the opposite force of the power, is extremely powerful, and will protect you and your friends as long as you wear it."

"We'll bring Flora back." Bloom promised as she, Helia, and Layla hugged their friends goodbye.

"Be careful." Sky warned.

"The same for you, too," Layla had her arms encircled around Nabu's neck, with his arms wrapped around her waist. She pecked his lips and smiled at his worried expression.

"As much as I love goodbyes, which just warms my dear ole heart," Alaric didn't bother to hide his sarcasm. "We really have to get going so I suggest we get here."

They watched as Alaric stepped forward and instantly was sucked into the portal, disappearing from sight. Soon Bloom went after him, then Layla, and finally, after turning back to wave to his friends, Helia entered inside before it swirled up into a tiny spot that disappeared.

"You think they're going to be okay?" Stella asked.

"I know they will." Brandon said, even though he was very uncertain and tried not to show it.

"They will be okay. Right now, we have to other things to worry about like facing Libitina."

She was right. They had other things to worry about. In less than a few hours, they were going to be in the battle of their lives as they go against the darkest, most powerful witch known throughout all the realms. But just like the original Winx girls and Specialists, this was one battle they sure as hell are not planning of losing.


	26. Chapter 26

_The transition was instantaneous. For a moment, there was nothing, then she started to notice how there was no air around her. She couldn't breathe. She was drowning in an ocean of nothingness. _

_Pressure squeezed her lungs, nearly cracking it to bits. She was intensely aware of the blood flow in her body, the sound of it roaring in her ears. Each beat her heart was pounding send a throb of pain inside her chest. Darkness feathered her vision. _

_The ground felt smooth underneath her body, smoother than any solid she ever felt. As she slowly opened her eyes, there was a burning stinging as light flooded into her vision, banishing the darkness, like she was sleeping Beauty asleep for centuries. Soon after her eyes opened, she slowly lifted her upper body off the ground, wincing when she felt the stiffness from her body. She tried not to look to at the landscape, not wanting anything else to upset the crtical migraine killing her head. The world around her shimmered drunkenly, was titling just enough center to upset the equilibrium. What was going on? What was this place? Where was she?_

_The sky, or where the sky would have been, was a horrible gray of nothingness with vivid red bolts streaking across it and dripping down it like blood dripping from a wound. No sun. No moon. Nothing but a horrible gray color and bright red that were hurting her eyes just by looking at it. _

_From land to land, there was nothing except pathways, including the one she was resting on, all leading to the big building miles away from her. She squinted her eyes to see it, able to make out the gigantic size of it and the brown coloring of the building with vivid beautiful, glass-colored windows reflecting such beautiful light and colors. _

_She figured that would be a safe place for her to hide._

_She looked up when she heard a loud chirping sound breaking her thoughts, seeing a beautiful raven bird flying over her head and slowly landing to her feet, standing in front of the girl. She stared at the dark bird while the dark bird bored her brilliant emerald green eyes into her, then suddenly the bird chirped again and flew away, flying straight towards the church. _

_She stared after it for awhile without moving, seeing how for such a tiny bird the raven was fast, unsure what she should do. Finally she stood up, the skirts of her dress fluttering with her movements, and decided to follow the beautiful bird._

Stepping through the portal was like nothing they had expected it to be. Being magical beings and having about one-third of magic in his blood, Bloom, Layla, and Helia taken enough portal rides to know what it feels it. It usually feels first cold then quickly warms up as they slide through it, to the other side of their destination. But Alaric's portal was a whole other, different experience; the second they were through, their bodies were immediately chilled to the bone, so freezing they were completely numb to the touch, with their body temperatures dropping extremely low with the chilling arctic gush blowing at every direction. There was a white explosion bursting in front of them, like a single firework sparking into the biggest explosion they had ever seen before, so bright and dazzling it was pure blinding. Then quickly the brightness was soon swallowed up by darkness.

There was nothing around them but thick curtains of pure darkness, revealing not even a glimmer of light. The arctic blows soon stopped, going from freezing cold and musky and unbearably hot. Each stop forward brought pain and agony as their feet made contact with the searing hot ground, flinging blisteringly hot needles into their feet. Yet they still forced themselves to move forward.

"How much further?" Bloom asked.

"Just a bit." Was all Alaric said, not really answering her question.

"We've been walking for-" Layla was soon cut herself off when she noticed something strange was happening. The thick darkness surrounding them was breaking bit by bit, the dark midnight color turning from black to icy gray, then scattered into bits.

The first thing they saw was lava, searing hot lava pouring from a high mountain top from the left and right sides. They were standing in a large crater rock hovering over the lava ocean streaming down south, showing bones and dead things flowing down with it. The few trees surrounding the place were all burnt up in flames, with the deadly fires leaping one cracked branch to the next and making sinister laughs of dry, scattering laughter painful to listen to. The carter rock they were standing on was leading them to tall iron gates, and behind those iron gates was the most enormous yet terrifying castle they had ever seen with the sounds of painful screams and dark laughter thundering loudly in the silence, dark webs which appeared to spun by a spider were showered at every inch, stained with crimson red blood, and most unusual yet horrible creatures glaring at them with wickedness and hungry in their eyes.

"Flora's here?" Helia gave a horrible shudder at the thought of his beloved setting foot in such a horrible place like this.

"Not exactly," Alaric answered. "You could say through that castle we'll find our paths and trails which can lead us to her."

"What kind of place is this?" Layla asked.

Alaric turned to all of them with a sinister, hungry glint in his eyes, his smile more evil and cold than pleasant. "Why, you're looking at the place I was born and raised. Hell."

Morgana hasn't used her powers for such the longest times, ages in fact, but she was of all people was surprised to see how powerful they were working despite the fact they have been practically asleep for almost a hundred years. She may been strong, but she could see for this kind of mission it was going to take more than one guardian Earth fairy to help fight against the legendary queen of evil and angel of darkness, so she called in two friends she hasn't seen for the longest time.

Nebula and Icicanda, two of the Earth fairies still living on Earth and was, as she recalled, were the strangely the closest friends to each other despite their differences. Nebula was the fairy of peace and war, though with her aggressiveness she seemed to show more a war side than peacefulness, and was now the new queen, thanks to Morgana who passed down her crown to her when she decided to step down from the throne and spend her time living a normal life with her family. Despite her aggressiveness and the frown and hardens usually seen on her face, it still didn't do anything to the matter she was in fact a very attractive young woman. She was nearly as old as Morgana was, but unlike the former queen, the new one looked to be at least twenty-six years old and not a day older, and was very attractive with her mop of dark purplish-black hair, a slender and petite figure, and beautiful dark lavender eyes. Icicanda was the fairy of Ice, having the same ice powers as Icy, but hers were much stronger and she was more powerful-not to mention she was way nicer than the ice witch. She seemed a bit intimidating as introductions were made and she eyed everyone with chilled coolness in her piercing eyes, but the chillness melted away when a warm smile appeared on her face. Like Nebula and Morgana, Icicanda was certainly beautiful with her pale yet smooth complexion, her dark full lips, pale blonde curly hair hid underneath her hood, piercing light yet dark green eyes with a certain chillness quaintly in them, had a slender-trim figure and also looked to be in her twenties.

"I still do not see why you agreed to help, Alaric." Like everyone, Nebula had the unfortunate honor of meeting the devil in disguise and felt nothing but deep hatred and an intense desire to destroy him.

"I didn't agree to this because I suddenly want to be friends with me," Morgana explained. "I agreed because these kids want to stop Libitina and stop the chaos happening in the magical universe."

"I'm glad you have all have spirits and hope," Icicanda told them. "But I'm having such a strong feeling-"

"You have always had such strong feeling for practically everything." Nebula snorted, acting like the sister who loves to show off and annoy her sibling.

Icicanda continued on, like she wasn't interrupted. "That this may not work."

"What are you talking about?" Nebula demanded.

"I'm simply saying what is true, Nebula. From what the Winx girls have told us, the Midnight Raven has grown so much stronger and powerful over the past centuries and Libitina is stronger than she has ever been. Counting Roxy, we are a force of seven fairies, one wizard, and four skilled Specialists. We have hope, which is good, but it's not going to be good enough."

"We still cannot back down, Icicanda," Musa said, taking the words right out from Nebula's mouth. "Even with all the odds against them, my ancestor, Melody and her friends didn't give up. And, God help me, I don't plan to. My dad always used to tell when I was little it's cool to try, but not trying is not cool."

"I'm with Musa!" Tecna exclaimed, placing her hand over Musa's outstretched one. She turned to the others and said "Are you guys in or out?"

"I'm in!" Stella placed her hand in.

"Me, too!" Sky said. "Guys?"

"I'm in!" Brandon said.

"Me, too!" Timmy said.

"The bitch is going down!" Riven smirked.

"No doubt!" Nabu agreed.

Morgana, along with Roxy, placed their hands in and Nebula's answer to whether or not she was going to join them was the wide smirk on her face as she acted with no hesitation placing her hand in the bond. The only one left was Icicanda who was still looking a bit uncertain about fighting with the extreme odds they would be fighting. But looking into their proud smiles and fierce determination in their eyes, she saw they were still going to try with everything they have in them. She shook her head, silently telling herself she was going to regret this later, but put her uncertainty and fear aside as she placed her hand inside the circle.

"Are you all ready to be part of the biggest battle of your lives?" Morgana asked them.

"Yeah!" they all answered.

"Are you ready to take down the dark angel?"

"Yeah!"

"Let's do it!" Raising their fists high in the air, Stella, Musa, and Tecna transformed into beautiful and powerful Enchantix.

Doing a series fluid yet graceful movements with their hands, the elder fairies transformed themselves into their true fairy form. Young Roxy did a series of back flips and cartwheels before jumping high and transforming herself. Her Winx outfit was beautiful consisting of a sparking green top that has two pale lavender straps holding it over her right shoulder, a green glove on her right arm, green short-shorts with a lime green belt sporting a buckle and ruffles hanging off, green high-heeled boots wore on her feet with colored blue heels and her wings were big and also very beautiful. They were heart-shaped, mainly green and hot pink with pink swirls, butterflies, and green paw animal marks.

The boys were all set, too with their weapons, ready for action. Sky and Riven handy with their phantom blades, Timmy locked and loaded with his laser gun, and Nabu ready with his staff.

"Stella, if you would do the honors?" Musa said.

"Why, dahling, of course! Sun power!" Slipping off her ring, she tossed high in the sky and it came back as her Solarian scepter. With a swing to other side, she transported them all back to Magix.

The city was still the exactly same way as they left it. Thick black smoke curling upwards to the sky, coming from the horrible fires spreading all around, destroying everything in sight. The streets were littered with the few people left behind but not spared, molted into statues, their expressions showing fear and pain that showed their struggle as they tried to fight off the ghouls dragging them underground to their doom. The disturbing centerpiece was a cruel reminder to anyone who dared question her authority or power, showing the dying consequences if they wish to challenge her and lose their life. Posted on top of the remaining ruins of collapsed, destroyed buildings were beautiful black birds, their eyes deep crimson and the shade of blood, and their beaks opened wide to sing their beautiful song before flying away. Shadow Demons walking on the streets aimlessly, eyes darting all over the area in search for something to destroy.

There were too many ravens and Shadow Demons to count by, but if they were spotted then they would be long destroyed before the mission even begins. Quickly they hid behind a lone building with its' left top from side charred up, empty of any monsters of birds, which was the perfect place for cover.

Peeking their heads out but still hiding out, they saw a figure sitting as she was being hovered high in the air. Despite all that was going on around her, the young woman was focusing all her attention on her manicure she was filing while sitting calmly on her black and red bejeweled throne high in the air and giving her the perfect view of the destruction she was leading.

She stopped filing her nails for a moment to see how things were doing. Her long hair was let down and flowing in the eerie winds, the flames around her gave her more edge, and her brilliant red eyes gleaming with cruel laughter as she looked around at all the destruction she was causing and drinking it all in. The more she drank in, the brighter her eyes gleam and her smile grew more twisted. Finally, right on cue, she threw her back and let out an evil laugh, much more wicked and cold than any laugh a villain has ever made. Sighing happily, she went back fixing the rest of her nails.

Libitina.

Seeing her so smug and proud of herself made nearly everyone want to come forward and attack her, to get payback on every horrible act she committed both in the past and now. Luckily, they knew better and resisted the strong urge to do so. Doing something like that would promise them death in a minute.

"Wow, that's really her." Roxy murmured, then turned to Tecna who was standing next to her. "Your fairy dust has healing power in it that can undo dark spells. Are you sure it won't work on her? Maybe that help your friend, Flora, regain control over her body."

"We thought about doing that earlier, only to discover it wouldn't work," Tecna answered. "The Midnight Raven is a dark power, not a dark spell, so the fairy dust wouldn't work."

"And if even it did work, it still be pointless," Musa said. "Flora's not inside Libitina anymore. She's at some other place that Alaric, Bloom, Layla, and Helia are going to get her."

"Alaric says Libitina will knew what they're up to if someone isn't distracting her," Stella said. "So we have to buy them some time and distract her for as long as we can."

At the sound of sudden noise, the dark queen's monsters turned their attention to where they were hiding in. Panicked, they all stood still and quieted themselves soon in hopes the monsters would look the other way. But, unfortunately it was too late; the monsters heard them and were all coming right over to get them.

"I suppose the time to fight is now!" Morgana said. "We will handle the shadow demons while you take care of Libitina."

"Be careful!"Roxy hugged her mom extra tightly, warning herself not to cry when she felt a stinging sensation in her eyes.

"You, too!" She smiled at her daughter's worried face and kissed on her cheek, and then turned to her fellow Earth fairies. "Nebula, Icicanda, what do you say about showing these creatures what Earth fairies is all about?"

"You don't even need to ask me twice." Nebula raised her hands over her head and a powerful energy blast formed into a ball, twice the size of a bowling ball hovered over her head. "War obliteration!"

That spell successfully took out two of the five monsters she aimed at, but unfortunately caused ten more to rise where the two destroyed ones were standing. She immediately ran forward with Morgana and Icicanda leading behind her, already taking down half a dozen with her energy blasts. While the Earth fairies were taking their fight with the shadow monsters, the Winx girls and RF boys were figuring out the perfect move to wipe out the dark angel.

"I say we fight fire with fire," Stella suggested. "We should combine all the energy of the Midnight Raven Flora had given us and use that energy against her."

"Nothing's more better than giving a witch a taste of her own medicine." Musa smirked.

"Let's do it!" Timmy said.

"Roxy, we're going to need you to step back. I don't want you to get hurt," Sky instructed. The girl arched an eyebrow at him, but still followed his request of stepping back. When she did that, the rest of them formed into a circle, closed their eyes, held onto one another's hands tightly. "Remember to focus, guys, and put all your energy into this."

"Think about your worst horrible memories and thoughts, fed all your anger into the dark power." Tecna said.

The dark energy was flowing uncontrollably and endlessly inside their bodies, pouring out from them and wrapping around their bodies. The energy so strong and powerful, the ground beneath them was shaking like a quake has struck and so powerful they nearly lost grip of one another, but they kept their eyes closed while holding on tight and poured more anger into the power. Slowly, they felt nothing under their feet as they were flowing high to the sky and moving forward to Libitina, who looked at them questioningly.

"Energy of the Midnight Raven!" they all cried, finally releasing all that energy. The attack was a sleek current of powerful black and red energy pouring from their hearts, spilling lower but never touching the ground, and then rushing forward to Libitina, who tried to absorb the power with her staff but saw it was too strong for her to control. She ended up taking the strong hit, destroying her throne, and hurling her all the way across the other side.

"We did it!" Brandon and Sky high-fived.

"We showed that witch who rules!" Stella cried.

"Good job, you guys!" Roxy said.

But it wasn't over yet. Just then, as they were cheering for their victory, a powerful red beam shoot through where Libitina was hit, racing straight toward them. The beam was too big and fast to avoid, so they ended up taking the powerful hit, including Roxy who was hit by it as well, and were knocked hard onto the hard ground.

A smug and giggling Libitina walked toward them with not a scratch on her body, her red eyes howling with laughter and a dark smile spreading across her face as she watched the display of pain and misery in front of her while the fairies and heroes were trying to get back on their feet. "Here's some advice for you. Don't act all smug and think you're hot shit just because you have some new power to play with. My reincarnation may have given you some power to protect you, but that's practically nothing if you plan to fight me."

"Now who's acting like they're hot shit, bitch!" Riven said once they, with extreme difficulty, gotten up.

The comment did nothing more but make Libitina's dark smile become colder and wider. "I could easily destroy you myself, but where's the fun in that? I have a much better idea."

Twirling her staff over her head like a baton, Libitina slammed the end-point of it to the ground, kneeling in front of it, with the raven centerpiece glowing blindingly bright. The moment it touched the ground, time seemed to freeze for a moment with everything slowing down to a halt. Morgana and her friends soon frozen in place while they were fending off the shadow, the scream echoing from Roxy's mouth was soon lowered to mute, and the girls and guys were statues as they braced themselves for whatever attack she was planning to throw their way. But the spell was soon broken with a thundering _bam_ as the entire staff glowed bright onyx and ruby, with the pieces and stripes of shadows coming together and circling around it.

Streaks of shadows come out from the circle and raced over to the gang, hitting them right at the heart and sending bolts of powerful yet painful lightening inside and around their bodies, sending so much pain screaming loudly at the top of their lungs didn't seem enough to show much how pain they were feeling. Millions of searing hot needles were being thrust into their skulls, the soles of their feet, their hands and fingers; their bodies were being eaten alive by unforgivable, harsh flames devouring every limb and bone in their bodies.

A powerful punch taking a direct hit every inch of their bodies ended the pain, knocking them onto the ground or against the standing debris. When they finally stand up, they were gasping all at once when they saw what was standing in front of them.

Standing out from the smoke blinding their vision were clones of themselves, or shadows with their own dark image with darker hair, paler skin, and had such a strong and powerfully dark aura hovering over them. Even their clothes were dark, sporting dark gray colors, white, and black The girls placed their hands on their hips which were swaying back and forth with every step they were taking, the boys either cracking their hands or had their arms folded against their chest, their smiles dark and cold as ice spreading across their faces, and their red eyes grinning with amusement and wickedness.

"I may be the queen of evil, but you ourselves are your own worst enemies," Libitina smirked. "Fairies and heroes meet the psychos."

"We're stronger than you." Dark Brandon said.

"Faster than you." Dark Stella said.

"Smarter than you." Dark Timmy said.

"But we're evil." Dark Tecna smiled darkly.

Dark, psycho Sky eyed all the fairies and heroes, smirking at their shocked faces. Gliding forward without his feet ever touching the ground, he was standing in front of regular Sky with his smirk turning into a wide, evil grin. "Flora's not the only one with a bad side."

Before Sky could utter a word, his psycho twin send an explosion of pain to the right side of his face as he kicked upward to the jaw, sending him head-first to the ground.

"We're about to show you pixies what we psychos can do." Dark Musa smirked.

"Bring it on, wanna-be!" Musa said.

"With pleasure."

"This is hell?" Bloom asked, baffled. She wasn't exactly sure what to make of the land she was seeing. On one hand it was almost the exact same way people thought hell would be like, but also seemed a bit underdone for the legendary underground kingdom people were terrified of spending eternity at.

"Well, only the outside part of it," Alaric answered. "But once you get inside, you'll be amazed with what you see and doubtlessly horrified. Before we go inside, there is one little thing I request of that I highly recommended you consider a warning. Whatever you do, or whatever you see, don't let anything tempt you to stay here."

"Why would we ever do that?" Layla asked at the same time Helia asked "What do you mean?"

Alaric said nothing more except this little message with a smile. "If you are wise, take my warning."

As if to direct the carter it was time to move, Alaric tapped on it twice with the heel of his shoe and the rock was moving forward. The gates to the castle opened before them and soon they were inside.

Alaric, for once of those very rare occasions, was right about one thing. The inside of hell was absolutely nothing like they expected it to be. Except for the sea of flowing lava bubbling madly underneath their rock, the rest of the landscape looked like one giant city but gloomy-looking and nothing like city would be expected to look like. The tall buildings were being eaten away by flames; figures dressed in red hooded cloaks were passing through the streets without their feet ever touching the ground, heads covered with hoods and bent forward; from horizon to horizon, the sea itself was a sea of crimson red, which were sprouting blooded drops; and screams of people suffering and chilling laughter of those causing pain was roaring at every direction.

"Well," Bloom commented. "This is just cheerful."

Not close enough to touch the sky definitely high over their heads were millions and millions of souls, glowing a light shade of red instead of pure white, engulfed by harsh flames and flowing aimlessly in the sky. Every now and then, at least a dozen of the souls would freeze in their place, then fall into the bubbling lava bath underneath, immediately getting swallowed up by the magma and disappearing from sight.

Alaric breathed in the hot, musky air of the hellish wasteland and sighed with a smile. "Just as I remember it. It's so good to be home."

"Are those…?" Layla pointed at the flowing ghost balls flowing over their heads, watching more and more spill into the lava.

"Foolish souls of people who thought showing some, small gestures of kindness before their death date would be enough to make up for all the horrible things they done in the past. Foolishly thinking God was that forgiving and thinking that would possibly save them from a damned eternity at the hands of the devil, who loves having new toys to play with," Alaric said. "Yes. Yes they are."

"There has to be over billions of them." Helia commented.

"Five thousands, one hundred and seventy three trillion," Alaric clarified. "But of course hell always has millions of souls checking into this place every minute of the endless days, so the numbers are getting even bigger as we speak."

"Why are they falling?" Bloom asked.

"Must I always be the one to explain?" Alaric sighed, then smiled at the dark looks he was receiving. "When a damaged soul is sent here, they officially go through three stages: insanity, damned temptation, and finally pure, utter suffering and pain. The souls you see flowing around are going through the first stage of insanity. When going through this stage, you lost everything you once knew of and slowly lose track of everything else. Mainly your senses. You lose intellect; you lose humanity, and lose your sense your sense of civility till you have completely gone mad with insanity. That stage takes about a century to suffer and complete. Unfortunately once the stage is over, the poor soul thinks everything is finally over when really it isn't. It's only the beginning of misery. The stage of damned temptation, which is being displayed by the falling souls. It's a very interesting stage by the way. It's when-"

Alaric was soon cut off by a loud sound, which was coming from the lava sea. The bubbles were sprouting more bigger, bubbling more madly by the fall of more and more souls falling into it. Hundreds, rounding up to thousands, of souls were falling into the sea like endless raindrops, upsetting the balance of the lava sea and causing sky-rocket squirts of searing hot, molting rock magma to shoot uncontrollably.

One of those lava squirts hit their rock, breaking the carter into millions of pieces and leaving nothing else separating them from the hot magma.

"_!" _they all screamed as they were falling straight for the lava.

"Remember what I warned you of. Don't let appearance deceive you!" Alaric reminded them before he was swallowed up by the magma.

"Brace yourself!" Layla advised as she and Bloom were the next ones to fall in.

"_!_" Helia screamed as he was the last one to dive in.

The moment the boiling bubbling liquid touched his skin, there was a freezing chill tingling down his spine contrasting with the blistering hot heat wave crashing against his entire body. Everything exploded into bright colors. Blue, green, red, fuchsia, the brightest yellow he ever seen, and the most amazing shade of black that was both amazingly dark and also amazingly bright.

_Even though I'm the sacrifice,_

_You won't cry for me, not now_

_Though I die to know you love me,_

_I'm all alone_

_Isn't something missing_

As the colors were bursting into colorful explosions, the song was fainting away, growing lower and lower till he could barely a thing. Then there was nothing else around them except for darkness…

_He was in a perfect environment of peace, quiet, and tranquility, which was just what he needed after spending the whole morning arguing with his damn father over the same agreements they've been having nearly forever now about him "putting his silly dreams and art books away and got to Red Fountain for a more promising future." The words his father were hurling at his direction he tried to ignore and shrug off. He was so fed with the fighting, his brothers laughing and teasing him, and his mother being no help to him he just needed to get away from it all and have some "me" time for himself._

_Going back to the woods in Magix for some mediating was a perfect way for him to steam off his anger, melting it away into peaceful harmony and tranquility. Mediating on his favorite high rock, surrounded with nothing except nature. Inhaling the sweet scent of Mother Nature at her work, hearing the sounds of animals, the warmth of the sun shining down on him, and the cool air kissing his face. _

Peace, quiet, tranquility_, he chanted to himself. _Peace, quiet, tranquility.

"_There you are." Hearing those words broke the spell of his mediation, snapping him back into reality. Slowly he opened his eyes and turned his head to the right, to face the speaker of the voice. _

_Carmel hair cascading past her shoulders, down her waist and nearly close to reaching her butt, shimmering from the bright glow of the sun. A beautiful, slender figure being shown off marvelously in her curve-hugging, form-fitting, white spaghetti-strapped dress embroidered with pink roses. Smooth tan skin that was kissed by the sun. Eyes the beautiful and breath-taking shade of jeweled emerald showing bright warmth and good cheer. Soft, sweet-looking lips blossoming into a beautiful, shy smile that flooded such hot warmth inside his body. _

"_I've been waiting for you, sweetie." She said, her hands behind her back as she took slow, small steps toward him and slowly stood when she reached a good distance. She reached her hand to him, as an offering to accept it._

_Everything about this seemed so perfect and wonderful, he shouldn't be questioning anything. However, he couldn't shake loose of the voice behind his head warning him there was something wrong about this. _

_He looked up at the girl standing before him, feeling so much warmth and longing bubbling up inside him and nearly causing him insanity, felling whim to the spell of her beautiful, priceless eyes. Slowly he reached for her hand, watching as the smile of her face grew. _

_The moment their hands were only a second away from touching, a gasp escaped from his lips as memories and images were coming back to his head. Of fending off monsters from the shadows and engaging in a deadly sword fight with his enemy; his beloved committing the ultimate sacrifice and letting hell rock their universe; everything he knew and loved falling into darkness with the she-devil in command; him and his two other friends coming to Hell in hopes of rescuing her. And after that…_

_After that…_

_The rock they were flowing on break into a million pieces, and they were all fell into the hot depths of lava. _

_What did this mean?_

_Was he still alive or was he now dead again? Is he dreaming or having another hallucination? Was this part of the stages of hell Alaric was talking about before they all were lost at Lava Sea? _

_Or was he now having another flashback and living in the place, being Julio?_

_He looked at the smiling, brunette girl standing in front of him with her outstretched hand still beckoning him to come with her, hoping if she would have an answer to all this._

_Another question was who was she?_

_He had only two true loves in his lifetimes, both were the same girl but also incredibly different from one another. They looked so much alike he wasn't sure who was who. Espeically with the twinkle gleaming in her beautiful eyes, the smile of shyness but brightness brightenening up her face, bringing back so many wonderful memories they shared together._

"_Rose?"_


	27. Chapter 27

_Previously_

_What did this mean?_

_Was he still alive or was he now dead again? Is he dreaming or having another hallucination? Was this part of the stages of hell Alaric was talking about before they all were lost at Lava Sea? _

_Or was he now having another flashback and living in the place, being Julio?_

_He looked at the smiling, brunette girl standing in front of him with her outstretched hand still beckoning him to come with her, hoping if she would have an answer to all this._

_Another question was who was she?_

_He had only two true loves in his lifetimes, both were the same girl but also incredibly different from one another. They looked so much alike he wasn't sure who was who. Especially with the twinkle gleaming in her beautiful eyes, the smile of shyness but brightness brightening up her face, bringing back so many wonderful memories they shared together._

_"__Rose?"_

_The moment those words slipped out from his mouth, time was slowed down to a halt. The birds stopped chirping with sounds fainting away to a mute, the clouds in the sky slowing down in slow motion, and he could even feel his own heartbeat inside his chest slowing down beat by beat till it was completely still._

_The frozen spell lasted for a moment, finally being broken when scorching black and red, fierce flames shot up in front of him, burning the trees above instantly and causing him to jump back to avoid getting burned. He covered his mouth and nose with his hands to avoid breathing in the thick smoke, but was wheezing from lack of air and coughing when he accidently inhaled some of it. _

"_Rose!" He screamed as he coughed, trying to see some way to get to her through the mane of fire without getting burned first. "Rose!" he screamed again, more loudly this time._

_Soon the flames dead down, but he saw they transported him to a completely different scene. He knew this immediately when he saw he was in a setting different, instead of being at the woods he was in the grand room, crimson blood splattered on the walls and ceilings, flowing on the floors where the dead bodies of his dear friends, their bodies flawed with so many harsh bruises, faces showing shock and surprise, eyes frozen with fear and shocked pain as they met time's end. Pain coming from every spot of his bruised, batter body was quickly turning all the energy he had left was weakening to defeated exhaustion. His vision was fading in and out, on the account he received nearly innumerable blows and hits to the head, near his pupils; sweat dripping from his forehead and face, mixing with the blood caking his wounds; his uniform had so many scratches and torn with his cape nearly spilt in half right through the middle; and his hands tightening around the handle of his sword were staining from their own shares of bruises and pain. _

_He was puzzled for a moment by the change of the scene till, with a heart-stopping pang going through his chest, he realized where he was at. _

_This was the day of the big battle between them and Rosalina, the day the friends lost their lives and two former lovers ended up being the deaths of each other. _

_His eyes darted around the throne room, nearly jumping out from his own skin when he saw the numbers of shadows around him, unsure where to find her. _

_Suddenly, the she-devil appeared, walking right through the thick wall of fire he didn't know was there till he mistakenly inhaled the thick, black smoke. _

_For a moment she looked almost the same way as she did when he was in the first scene, wearing her bright dress with her hand outstretched, beckoning him to her, green eyes dazzling and smile brightening up her face. Then next moment she was gone and he watched her change right before his eyes. Shadows from beneath her feet entangled around her body, shedding away her dress and replacing it with a shimmering black leather cat suit with silver metallic breast plate and black leather chunky stiletto-heeled ankle boots. She snapped her fingers and in an instant of red and black smoke, her raven-crescent specter appeared in her opened hand. A small black/red beaded tiara that has the sinister 'S' and raven crescent as the centerpiece for the tiara was placed on the crown of her head. _

_Change fall over her face like a mask. Gone were the soft, angelic curves of her face, replaced with harsh angels and shadows. The friendly, warm light in her eyes snuffed out in an instant, the breathtaking emerald green quickly changing to brilliant, frighteningly chilling crimson red. Her red lips thinned like a wounded beginning to colt. _

_They had been fighting nonstop for hours, longer since the passing of his friends. The only way to show any proof of violence was when looking at him, seeing his tears in his clothes, harsh and serve wounds inflicted on his body, crimson blood leaking from his deep wounds and caked around his lips, and hollow pain and sadness in his eyes. However, if one were to look at his opponent, they would say she was beautiful and untouched with not a single scratch on her body or hair out of place._

"_Die Julio!" Using one hand, she twirled her staff like a baton, doing multiple fluidly and graceful tricks with it, and spinning as she tossed her staff high in the air and caught it with the same hand. The moment she caught it, she aimed target at his chest, at the exact spot his heartbeat was quickening fast to the speed of the light, and the strongest, most powerful bolt of black, fierce lightening shot right out, heading right toward him. _

_Quickly getting over the shock of change, he used his sword as a shield to protect himself. He held it out in front of him and tried to fight against the force, which he was starting to realize was far too strong for him to handle. He tried to push against it, but was left of his energy and strength was fading fast. _

_Pain like nothing he ever felt before exploded like a dazzling show of dozens of fireworks, burning and swelling every inch of his body as he was knocked down to the ground, all the pain already existing now and the fresh pain combining together to make his body completely numb. His eyes were looking up at the blank ceiling, the visions darkening to black every now and then and fading. He could only focus on breathing, his heart racing as he heard her footsteps coming closer to him, while his head was spinning wildly from the massive amounts of blood leaking from its' cuts and wounds. _

"_This is what happens when a selfish little boy and his pathetic friends decide to turn down a nice girl's offer," Libitina said. "They end up getting squashed little pesky insects."_

"_They were your friends, too." He managed to say out loud in low mumbles as he coughed out blood._

"_And I quickly moved on when it was time to grow up," Libitina glared down at him. "Too bad you didn't my lead, then maybe you all would have spared of this horrible fate that's about to come true."_

"_Rose plea-" He interrupted himself as he screamed out loud in pure agonizing pain, feeling pressure of great pain crushing against him as Libitina brought on her high-heeled boot and brought it down on his chest, cracking at least four of his ribs._

"_I told you, dear Julio, I would kill with no misery if you dared show your face here," she said. "You should have listened instead of acting like a big-shot hero."_

_He screamed louder, feeling greater pain than last, as she lifted her foot up and brought it down even harder on his chest. "Rose, please."_

"_Little, silly Rosalina is dead, _dim-wit_. I am Libitina, now and forever," she simply said, not a single emotion heard in her tone at all except deadly coldness. "And I never, ever want to see your disgusting, sad and pathetic face ever again."_

_Still glaring down at him with her cold, crimson eyes, heavy rock boulders formed above him with sharpened tips pointing right down at him, surrounded by deadly fires. "Enjoy your time in hell, Julio."_

_With a simple, careless gesture with her hand, the rocks were no longer at her controlled command and falling fast. _

I can't let it end like this, I can't let her lose herself_, he thought urgently through his burning, unbearable pain. _

"_No!" he screamed, gathering every bit of remaining strength and energy he had to quickly dodged out of the way, barely avoiding getting burned and crushed. He swiftly got back on his feet and pounced on Libitina, the two of them rolling around the blooded floors and fighting one another._

"_Look at yourself, Rose," he told her. He was placed on top of her, his hand tightly clutched around her neck and having her in choking position. "Is this really the kind of person you want to be, the kind of person you wish to be remembered as for the rest of your life?"_

"_You make that sound like that's a bad thing." She smiled grimly as she gave him a good kick to the shins. He hissed in pain, but still jumped on her again and continued to fight, this time harder._

"_I want to save you, Rose!"He exclaimed. "Save you from the monster you've become. You know this isn't you. The power of the Midnight Raven spelled you into thinking you were evil, but you are really good. You know that."_

"Save me?_" She kicked him hard at shins, ten times harder than she did the last time with extra force, knocking him off her. While he was craning roughly against the floor, across the other side of the time, Libitina wasted no time getting up. She then laughed out loud, the sound so cold and painful to listen to like broken glass. "This is just rich. So beautiful, I feel I may laugh myself to a cry and cry myself to sleep."_

_Blows of strong, fierce winds gathered up in the room, lifting up everything into a hurricane. So strong he was nearly knocked to the ground each time he tried to stand up and cold enough to nearly freeze his eyes each time he tried to open them for a quick second. It was miraculous he was able to still hear her through the howl winds as she walked over to him, the vivid glow of her haunting eyes bright enough to stand out from the thick mane of the winds. _

"_Let me make this as clear as I can. I don't need saving," A lightening-zapped energy ball erupted from her hand, hitting him right in the head, adding extra more pain he already couldn't bare. "I'm not some little girl who's waiting to be rescued. I wanted to have to the power of the Midnight Raven for myself. I wanted to become the angel of darkness. I wanted to destroy realms and put fear into those idiots who saw me as a pathetic, little girl who couldn't defend herself," A double-blast shot from both hands, hitting him in the gut. "I wanted to destroy you and your pathetic dopes you called friends."_

"_Rose, please," he croaked. "Please don't do this. We can still be together; you still make up for everything you have done."_

_Caught off guard for a spilt second, she stopped and stared at him, then shook her head. "No. Never again."_

"_Then for the good of all." He got up, his sword raised high and gotten himself into position, then took off running toward her, ready to strike. Libitina hadn't moved an inch from her position, but nevertheless released the biggest shock of lightening he ever seen in his life from her hands while he was only two inches away from her. He recalled from memories how this dance ended the last time, unable to forgive the shock of death sweeping across him and how their fates at the end, but wasn't going to have things end this way._

_In a quick movement, moving fluidly as a sleek snake, he quickly dodged the bolt of the lightening, which ending up slamming against the wall, tossed away his sword as he realized he would no longer require it, and gotten back her. He pressed her body against his, wrapped one arm tightly around her neck, and used his free hand to retrieve his dagger and held it against her skin, lightly but firmly pressing the sharpened tip against her exposed flesh and watching as a drip of blood was slowly leaking down like wax from a candle. _

_Libitina stopped struggling to break free from his grip as soon as she saw the dagger and felt its' cool tip pressing against her skin. Looking at the weapon, then staring at the cool expression wore on his face, and the unreadable, bottomless pits of hollowness in his eyes, it was all too clear what he planned to do next. "If you really wish to be rid of the Dark Angel forever, destroy the one and only girl who ever touched your heart, then go ahead. I won't do a thing to stop you."_

_Right then would have been the best opportunity to strike, to slice right through her throat before she could finish her sentence. Thrust the dagger into her heart to end all the torment and suffering, and to be rid of the dark angel forever. Only…he couldn't._

_Because he realized something. _

_He first realized there was still a part of him, a whole part that was nearly all of him, that still loved and longed for despite all the horrible things she had done to him, and that there was nothing he could about that. Second thing, he thought about them, questioning their fate. Was this really how it was meant to be? For them to be lovers to share a great love deeper than anything they ever felt before, then become enemies and be the deaths of each other? Were they even meant to be together in their present lifetimes or just finish everything they started over eight hundred and sixty eight years ago? _

_The dagger fell to the ground with a thundering thump, once his decision was made and he spun her around, embracing her tightly in his arms._

"_What in the realms are you-" He cut her angry rant with a serious look in his eyes as he gazed down at her._

"_No," he whispered, but it was nearly as loud as a scream in the quiet room. "Not again. I lost you once, then again in this lifetime. I'm not going to do it again." Resting her head on his shoulder while he rested his chin on her hair, held her even mire tightly in his arms. "I will always love and protect you, from anything and anyone for as long as I live."_

_She was frozen like a statue in his embrace, till slowly she warmed up to the familiar feeling of being held by him. "Always?"_

"_Always." He promised._

"_Then stay here with here, Julio. Just you and me _forever_. No rules to hold us back, no disguises and secrets to keep from each other, and just us together in our own little paradise forever. What do you say? If you really love me and wish to protect me like you said you would, then you'll say yes."_

_Stay here forever with Rosalina? The answer was already as clear as day, she shouldn't even have bothered to ask him that. Spending the rest of eternity with the girl he loves, loving her and protecting her, was true, absolute paradise to him. "Of cou-"_

_Suddenly bright white from above shined so brightly, it nearly blinded him, dawning down at the spot a feet away from his left. He narrowed his eyes at it, holding Rosalina tight to protect her from the harm it might inflict on them. _

Is this some kind of sign from fate?_ He questioned. _Like there's someone else I have to protect?

_If that was the sign, then maybe fate was making a mistake. He had Rosalina, who was all he ever needed. He didn't need-_

_His thoughts were immediately interrupted when he saw her again. Her resemblance to his Rose was so incredibly remarkable, it nearly took his breath away and he thought for a moment he was looking at an image of her. It wasn't till then that he noticed the differences, with feelings that were somehow much stronger than what he felt for Rosalina rushing inside of him. The twinkle gleaming in her eyes as she cocked her head to one side, warmth with brightness he knew could never change, the sweet smile on her face blossoming like a beautiful flower he knew could never be cold and dark, and the echo of her musical laughter as she giggled so warm and unlike the sounds of laughter he heard from Rosalina's lately. _

"_Flora." He murmured, and pain-this pain mental and emotional-filled his heart as he watched her disappear._

Of course!_ He thought. _I may have loved Rosalina, but she changed in the end. Flora never let power get in between herself and friends, would never betray them, and stayed loyal to me through thick and thin.

_His thoughts were interrupted as Libitina grabbed him by the chin, her sharp fingers tightly thrust into his skin, inflicting more wounds and causing more blood shed, and brought his head down so he could meet her eyes. And he nearly jumped out from his skin when he got a better look at her. _

"_Is that puppet more important to you than me?" she asked. Her face was being twisted by darkness and shadows, her crimson red glowing an unusual red and becoming more like the eyes belonging to a demon, with that sweet yet dark, sinister smile on her face as she looked at him. The features that had delicately enticing and feminine were now sharp and hard, morphing right before his eyes. Her flawless tan skin seemed to tightening around her bones, accentuating every vein until the blood pumping through them could easily be seen. She looked like a monster, a pure frightening monster. "Why would you want to settle with some lowly, useless copy when you already have the original who wants to play and have some fun with her favorite doll?"_

_She shoved him hard against the wall and growled at his face, the sound sounding like a cross between the horrible shriek of the raven and a fierce roar belonging to a creature more reckless and monstrous than any demon known. She bared her teeth at him, which were glistening pearly white and sharpened like fangs, and sticking out her tongue, which now looked less of a magical being and more of a snake ready to take in the kill. "Isn't this what you wanted?" the imposter wearing the masks of his beloved hissed with that evil smile. "An eternity with the girl who killed you yet you loved with all your heart? Isn't this the reason you put up being reincarnated again?"_

"_You're not Rose, and more importantly you're not Flora," Helia said. "Which means I can easily do!"_

_Helia quickly escaped from its' grips as he elbowed the monster hard at its' ribs, then quickly dove and rolled down to retrieve the dagger, swiftly taking out from his pocket the vial of the same deadly poison he used to kill Rosalina, and with a loud cry of anger thrust the dagger right through the creature's chest, piercing right through the heart. _

_The monster barely had time to scream with the quick effect of the poison already taking affecting it and silently fell forward, exploding into guts and blood, with the blood splattered all over the room and some of the blood showering Helia. _

"Flora!" A jolt, like nothing he ever felt before in his life, kicked him hard, somehow pouncing against every inch of his body and breaking miraculously the spell of the horrible trance he was under. He bolted, sitting up straight into sitting position and taking in gulps of the air he hasn't realized till now was so valuable. It wasn't till he looked up, that he realized he was surrounded by Bloom and Layla who were standing by either sides of him, down on their knees and looking at him with concern in their eyes, with Alaric a few steps away who only arched an eyebrow when he saw he was awake. And then saw he was they were out of the lava ocean, now flowing through the steams of the molten rock on a boat created from Layla's Morhpix magic.

"What-how-" He rumbled on, unsure how to properly explain the shock he was feeling.

"Enjoy your little damned temptation fantasy, dim-wit and misses dim-wits?" Alaric asked.

Layla got up, figuring Bloom can handle Alaric, while she went over to give Alaric a good punch in the gut, a show in her frustration to show him she was done with him acting like a wise jackass. It was good punch, she figured, because she put all her body and strength into that hit, but all thoughts and feelings were pushed when there was a loud crushing sound. The sound of hand cracked from being used to punch against a wall of bricks.

"SHIT!" She yelled as she held her broken hands, winching in pain as she tried to touch it. "Fucking shit, you broke my hand, you jackass!"

Alaric rolled his eyes. "A, you broke it yourself, sweetheart. Trying to punch a guy whose body is completely strong and solid like a steel rock will only have broken body parts. B, quit dancing around so I can help heal it."

"Does it really hurt, Layla?" Bloom asked.

"Well it doesn't feel good now, does it?" Layla said, not intending to use that much sharp harshness in her tone and immediately apologize when she saw Bloom's face fall, explaining it was the pain making her act crazy.

While Alaric was helping Layla heal her hand with some black magic and chanting, Bloom was helping Helia settle from his horrible experience. "Are you okay, Helia? What happened?"

Helia told her everything that happened to him while he fell into the lava ocean and all of them listened to him, with the expectation of Alaric who was sometimes rolling his eyes and rudely snorting, patiently with no rush. Then when he was done, Bloom and Layla both had something very interesting to share.

"The same thing almost happened to me, too," Bloom said. "Only it didn't involve Flora and Rosalina. I was at Sparks, before the invasion of the witches and when everything was so beautiful about it, and I saw my birth family. My older sister, Daphne, and my birth parents, Orotele and Miriam. I was the princess of my birth planet about to crowned queen and everything was perfect. Too perfect actually. When my sister, Daphne, whispered in my ear if I wished to stay here forever, I almost said yes. But then I noticed the shadows in her eyes, the sudden darkness in her eyes and smile. I then quickly looked around and saw nearly everyone was looking at me like that. I knew it was some sort of trick and I said no to everything because I wasn't going to get into it. The next thing I know I'm being reeled out of the lava by Alaric."

Helia shook his head in disbelief while Layla nodded, explaining. "That's so weird, because the almost exact same thing happened to me. Before I came to Alfea and met you guys, I never had any friends thanks to my strict childhood and wasn't allowed to talk to anyway outside 'my social circle'. Then one day, when I went up to one of the royal towers to get away from it, I saw this girl looked about a year or two older than dressed in all purple, dancing around to the music playing on her boom box. Her name was Anna, and she and I became best friends. She was even the one who taught me how to dance in the first place. But the friendship was cut short when it was reported to my parents, who then ordered that Anna was to be removed from the castle, and that was the last I ever saw her again. But when I fell into the lava, I was suddenly at the high tower again and I saw Anne there dancing again, smiling when she saw me. It was almost too real to believe because I haven't seen her for the longest time, but all my doubt was swept away when she pulled me into the dance and we were dancing to this most amazing music. She then smiled at me and said what if we could stay this forever. Two best friends dancing to their favorite music with no troubles and worries forever. It sounded like true paradise to me, I almost said yes but then I started to open my eyes. I saw something I never seen before in Anna's eyes, a sharp but sinter glint in her eyes that left me breathless when I looked at it. I thankfully was able to wake up from my nightmare, and then Bloom and Alaric helped me out from the lava, which oddly enough almost felt like water."

"Blah, Blah, Blah is really all I seem to hear from your mouths," Alaric said. "To cut things short, Layla used some of her magic to make this boat and we came searching for you. I honestly wanted to leave you behind and keep going, but your friends were annoying and nagging the hell out of me I had to give in."

"Geez, Alaric, it's so nice to hear that you care." Helia sarcastically remarked while Alaric winked.

"What's with the smirk on your face?' Bloom said.

"What smirk?" And sure enough, a wide, mischievous smile spread across Alaric's face before he could take control of himself. The same secretive, cruel smile often seen on his face whenever it involved a certain something only he was aware of while the rest of them were left out in the dark. The same smile they all had a strong, urgent desire to knock right out his pretty, little face.

"The same smug smile always on your face when you always have a certain information on something the rest of us don't know," Layla answered for Bloom, as she and Helia quickly catch on what Bloom was leading on. "What the hell do you know?"

"Temptations and Desires. The thing dear daddy use to always tell me, besides trusting another, was the easiest thing to get you killed," Alaric sighed as he shook his head. "The little experiment process you all just went through was the second stage a soul goes through as they enter hell. The damned temptation."

"The same stage you were able to explain to use before we all fell into the lava." Helia said, remembering.

"Bingo young dim-wit, who proved he's somewhat smarter than I give him credit for," Alaric smiled at Helia's dark glare. "Temptation, desire is the easiest way to trap someone into damnation when that very person is faced with the thing they desire most in their hearts."

"And temptation is the exact thing that banished Adam and Eve from God's kingdom because they both eaten the forbidden fruit. Thanks to the serpent that tempted Eve into eating it in the first place." Bloom, who has been going to Sunday school nearly every Sunday since she was little, was very familiar on the story of temptation from religion class.

"Bingo again, this is going to the redhead. Master, A.K.A. dear Dad, always finds ways to take a peek into hearts and see their greatest wishes. Then when the soul is done going through the stage of insanity and goes through the stage of damned temptation, having their greatest desire met them face-to-face once they fell into the level. I wasn't affected at all by the stage, thank goodness, but because the rest of you were, the desires you were held close to your heart were seen and used against you," Turning to Bloom he said, "For you, your desire is to meet your birth parents, see your elder sister again only this time alive, and see your birth home." He turned his head to Layla, saying "Your desire was to see the first friend you ever had, someone who saw you as a regular girl instead of a princess." And lastly turning to Helia, he said, "And all of us are already aware of what you wish for. To have Rosalina back to the way she was before she turned into a monster, and to also have your precious Flora back as well. Only the odd thing was, unlike the others, you didn't realize what was happening to you till you saw your precious flower again."

Experiencing one of those very rare occasions actually agreeing with Alaric on those very rare moments, both enemies were actually on the same page and Helia nodded. "I hated how things ended between me and Rosalina. Hated the fact I lose her twice now to evil and I wasn't able to protect her. When I had her in my arms, I held her tight to show how much I love and wanted to protect her. But then fate showed there was also another person who had my love and needed my protection as well. The minute I saw Flora's face, everything became clear and I woke up."

Alaric nodded. "A good thing all of you woke up before you actually agreed to the temptation, otherwise you would never left and then move on to the next stage, which is the most horrible one of all. Eternal pain and misery, where all three stages are combined together for absolute suffering and you become Devil play toys. I'm also very impressed. It's only two out of every ten that are able see with a sharp eye the darkness of their temptation and refuse their desires. Those rare expectations are very appealing to the Devil, who then gives the soul the perfect opportunity of joining him and becoming a disciple of his dark acts. With the choice of spending the rest of eternity suffering or becoming a disciple and learn the great dark ways of the true master of all things evil and horrible, it's a no-brainer what they'll pick. My parents who both those very rare exception that were able to see past their desires and were given the chance of joining the devil."

Silence filled in between the long moments of the four, one staying quiet and focusing on rowing the boat to a certain direction while the other three were unsure how to properly respond to the new fact Alaric shared with them.

"Do you miss them?" Bloom asked.

Alaric had his lips together in a firm, thin line as he thought about it for awhile before answering "Not really. I do miss being around my siblings, but there was never really a strong connection between us and our parents. To be completely honest, they were as useless to me as the dirt I walk on."

"But they're your parents!" Layla could muster up a few memories of not so good moments between her and her parents when they weren't all on the same page. But regardless of their fights, she still loved them.

Alaric only shrugged, like the reminder was pointless, and said "Parents who put the needs and wills of their master all the time, they would only on rare occasions notice they actually have four children to be taken care of. The Devil may seem like an evil mastermind to all of you, but he was really someone I saw as a father who treated me as his own son. When he told us our parents were dead, my sister, my brothers, and I all looked at one another and shrugged because we honestly couldn't have cared less. Why bother caring for someone who already wasn't aware you even existed?"

Still unsure how to properly respond, the others remained silent while Alaric stop talking and only focused on stirring the boat on the right path. They were hardly focused on anything else till they heard Alaric calling them again, telling them something they weren't able to understand right away.

"What was that?" Bloom asked.

"I said, look around you now." He repeated.

They lifted their heads up to look around the place, but then gasped in unison. Instead of being surrounded by wide horizons of endless streams of lava, they were soaring high through the sky. The landscape was still like a city but somehow also a kingdom that was still horrible to look at and terrible to breath in the musky stuffed at the same time with bodies dressed in red cloaks passing through the streets, unusual yet terrifying creatures taking a deep breath in deep breaths before breathing out sprouts of fires, and often there were women dressed in very little clothing walking down or performing sexuality activity after someone handed them a wad of cash.

But as odd and shocking as all of that was, it was nothing compared to what laid ahead of them on what looked to be a high hill top made from bones and dried up, rotten flesh that had drips of blood dripping out, where a huge red and black throne adorned with bones and flesh was surrounded by fire but didn't left a burn on the person proudly sitting on it. The person was a man, a giant actually with the height between sixty to seventy feet tall, too average to but considered broad and big but also had a well-built figure too lean to be considered scrawny. He was quite handsome, too, with a face that looked like it belonged to a huge movie star and seemed timeless as well with every feature absolutely flawless, one eye bright and dark as blooded red while other was dark as midnight, and dark hair that was a cross between extremely dark black and sheen blue tumbling down his shoulders in thick curls. He seemed quite please with his work by the smile spreading across his face and the sigh of ease escaping from his lips as he crossed his arms behind his head, leaned back against his throne, and closed his eyes while dark laughter was rumbling in his throat. Given the two sharp horns sticking out from his head, it didn't take a genius right away to realize who the man was.

"The devil!" they exclaimed.

"Dear old daddy himself and master of this wonderful wasteland." Alaric smiled.

"Please don't tell me he actually knows where Flora is." Helia begged.

"Actually no. Well, he does, but he's a busy man who doesn't have the time to think about that right now. Besides Flora is exactly right beneath our noses." Alaric did or said nothing more than give the boat a good skid to the side, sending them hurling toward one of the houses below them, missing it only by am inch and making them crash into the lava sea again for another dip.

Unlike the experience they went through as they took Alaric's bizarre portal, this experience because they could barely feel anything at all. Not the agonizing, searing pain bursting in their bodies from the touch of the steaming hot lava, the sudden chillness dropping to an extreme low, or the fact their bodies were practically dying from lack of oxygen. They couldn't feel at all because everything was completely and absolutely numb, making every touch feel so little and far away.

Helia's mind was a completely daze as he sank lower and lower, nothing but blackness surrounding him.

_Helia._

A voice. Someone was calling to him.

_Helia._

A voice so soft and timid, yet so sweet to listen to. A strange feeling came over to him as he listened to the voice, like he heard it before and loved to hear over and over repeatedly again.

Something about the voice was so familiar. He knew he heard it somewhere before, but couldn't remember where he heard it before. Like it was as distance as a dream.

As he finally opened his eyes, the first thing that came to mind was…the lava was cold. Not cold enough to feel freezing cold, but could pass as lukewarm from the fact he wasn't burning from the hot heat.

_Helia._

He heard his name and quickly turned around to face the speaker, hope filling him at thought of the person being who he thought it could be. Soon disappointment crushed him when he saw it was only red-headed Bloom next to him, pointing her finger at the direction Layla and Alaric were swimming at, saying his name again but he saw her lips weren't even moving.

She was somehow using telepathic powers to talk to him.

_This way, Helia_, she beckoned.

Reluctantly he followed her, and the of them followed the others' lead and swam up to the surface, wasting no time taking in deep gulps of sweet oxygen-even if it was stuffed up and musky, and swam to the nearest shore.

"Are you out of your mind?" Layla angrily demanded. "We could have been killed!"

Alaric dug through his pockets in searches of cigarettes, but only turned out with soaking wet ones. Frustrated, he tossed the pack into the lava, then turned to Layla with am amused glint in his eyes. "And how exactly would that be such a tragedy?"

"That's it!" Before she could control herself, she was jumping over to get him for that little comment. Bloom stepped into the picture and had to literally hold Layla back from making the same mistake she did already and cost her a broken hand.

"For a water pixie, you don't seem to enjoy swimming too much," Alaric smirked, then turned his attention to Helia, whose glare he could feel burning holes into the back of his head. "Why so gloomy and pouty, dim-wit?"

Anger fueled inside his body, nearly popping out every vein. As much as and as great as the desire to give Alaric a good punch in the face would be, he fought against the urge and took in a slow, deep breath to calm himself down. "I only have two things to say to you. One, you are the most disgusting, despicable bastard to ever live-"

"And I thought we already were pass calling me by the same names people have called me countless times since I was so small. First they were amusing, but quickly when they're being used repeatedly they tend to be boring." His amusement quickly turned to boredom as he heard his familiar nickname.

"And second," Helia continued, deliberately ignoring him. "You are a _complete idiot!_"

The main reason why the usually calm pacifist was so furious, besides the presence of a demon who made his blood boil he felt nothing but strong and deep hatred for, was the very fact their little dip in the lava pool brought them back to where they started. The girls were beginning to see the reason for Helia's rage as they looked around and saw they were surrounded by wide horizons of bubbling lava, endless streams of it falling down by the mountain sides by east and west.

"We're right back where we started!" Bloom exclaimed. "I cannot believe you made us walk around in circles."

"So help me, dear God, if this is some kind of trick, I swore on my life I will-" Layla ranted, only to be interrupted by Alaric.

"Now what was it I said before we fell into the lava the first time?" Alaric tapped his chin, a thoughtful look in his face. "Yes, that's right. Don't let sudden appearances deceive you."

"This is the exact same place where we started!" Layla exclaimed.

"Is it, pixie? Because as I recall, we didn't see this when we first entered," Alaric gestured his hand toward the dry, molten rock they were standing on, hundreds of feet above the lava and the size of an island. In front of them was a drawn-out, wooden bridge going on for what looked like nearly endless miles and appeared old with age featuring strong vines that were able to keep it firm and steady through the years. "Or that?"

He pointed to a thing that was far away from them; so far they had to squint their eyes to see it. It was a full-length, wall-length bronze molten double-sided doors featuring bronze hoops as handles and two stone, ceiling-high statues of creatures that were a cross between what would have been beautiful angels and terrifying demons, dressed in light weight army and carrying sharp spears.

"Beyond those doors lies your friend inside." Alaric explained.

"And I can feel her." Helia wasn't able to get a strong sense like he did back at Magix, but he can still feel something. Only problem was it was slipping away slowly bit by bit.

"The only question is how we could get across to get her," Bloom questioned.

"The bridge looks like it's close to falling apart any second."

"We could fly across and carry Helia over." Layla suggested.

"That might be a bad idea unless you wish to be barbecued," Instead of explaining more in words, Alaric gestured his hand toward the wide sea of lava blowing up hundreds of the biggest bubbles they ever seen before, bursting and gushing lava nearly everywhere, releasing such a foul-smelling, poisonous gas that was strong and deadly enough to kill, and sky-rocket high gushes of the stuff skyrocketing high toward the sky. "The gas they're releasing in one of the most deadly poison known to man. Inhale the foul stank and you'll be dead in an instant. Try flying and get hit by the gushes, it will eat you away your flesh and bones. Miss a step and fall into the lava again, it will be game over."

"But we went through the lava and nothing happened." Helia said.

"Only because we used a secret passageway portal I was able to open with my magic. We luckily got out of the lava before the spell ran out of time, but I'm afraid magic isn't going to work this time."

"Are we still in hell?"

"In a way yes, but in another way no. We're still underground and near Hell, but in another sense we're now worlds away from it. My father, birth father in case you were wondering, came here only once while mother was pregnant with my sister, Katrina. When my siblings and I were small and young, we would gather around him as he told us stories about the intense danger he faced and how he barely made it alive."

"So, how do we get all the way there?" Bloom asked.

"Flying for one is out; magic won't do any good either, so the only solution we have is crossing the bridge." Alaric said.

Layla could have snorted, but recalled the no-go on breathing so she settled herself with rolling her eyes twice and making sure Alaric sees it. "I don't mean to burst your dad's bubble, but as odd as this place may be, it doesn't seem that tough to handle."

Suddenly the ground was shaking underneath their feet and the molten rock they were standing on was breaking into pieces, being consumed by the hot magma. Quickly they ran to the bridge, but froze as sprouts of lava spilled nearly every inch buy their left and right, dripping by either sides of the bridge. Each drop of lava dripping and spilling onto the bridge created horrifying creatures made from the lava. They found themselves surrounded and pressed tightly against one another as the creatures brought out their swords and spears, the sharp tip pressed a mere inch away from touching their skin.

"You were saying again, pixie?" Alaric glared at Layla.

Libitina couldn't tell which was more wonderful or most delightful.

The fact those silly Winx girls and their boy toys thought they could even stand a chance of beating her and using her own powers against her. Or the fact she had a front-row seat of the fantastic show featuring her former friends' descendants getting the hell beaten out of them by her amazing psychos.

After watching the tremendous show going on for nearly nonstop the past three and a half hours, she was going to have to go with…opinion two. What made this ever so marvelous was they were all getting their asses beaten hard by their own selves, on their way to complete destruction and she didn't even have to lift a finger.

The psychos fairies and heroes were creations created from the energy of Midnight Raven and were also born from every speck on darkness hidden in their hearts. They knew their thoughts, could predict how they were going to attack and their next move, and knew every weakness that could easily bring them down and use that to their advantage. Aside from the fact they had the original person's power and strength, their own energy and strength was intensified by the dark raven, giving them the strength of a hundred and ten men, powers incredibly dark and ten times stronger, and moved fluidly with the speed of the lightening.

The boys took their fight on the grounds while the girls took theirs to the sky, but it could be easily seen who was winning and who was miserably losing. The boys did every trick and move they were taught at Red Fountain and the girls poured every bit of magic they had in their bodies into their attacks, but it wasn't enough. Not matter how much they put into the attack, whatever they throw at the psychos would only to be thrown right back to them-only ten times harder.

Whatever Riven would come close to taking a strike or parry, Dark Riven would immediately come prepared with a deflect of his own sword or strike a punch at him. As the two metals clashed, the two leaned close to each other, one scowling and another smirking.

When they jumped back from each other, Riven swiftly ducked down as the other Riven used his sword to swing through the air and tried to sneak a punch to his jaw as he came back up. Before he could reach up to his chin and knocked him down to the ground, nearly knocking him unconsciousness, with a hard blow to his right temple but not before drawing a thin line across his right cheek with a clean slice of his sword.

"Ten," Psycho Riven smirked, watching Riven wipe the blood off his cheek and slowly got up, wobbling a bit. "Those are how many weak spots you have, and that little blow to your right temple was number five."

Riven growled through his gritted teeth, making the smug smile on his Doppler-ganger's face widen. "Less talk, more action. So I suggest you shut that hole in your face and show me what you got."

Psycho Riven chuckled under his breath, amused, saying "Oh, I have plenty. I just don't think you can handle it, tough guy."

With that being said, Dark Raven released a powerful energy burst from his hand, catching Riven off caught from the shock his Doppler-ganger could do magic and nearly got hit by it.

Out of all experiences Musa has faced in her face, both horribly sad and unforgettably embarrassing moments in her life, she was going to have to say what she was experiencing now as she fought her own dark twin was part of the top ten horrible moments she ever experienced. There was nothing more badly than getting attacked by own music and beats, being used against her.

"Sonic blast!" Musa poured nearly all her energy into that attack, releasing a pretty strong energy-music blast. As it zoomed toward Psycho Musa, her double suddenly faded away from view.

"Where the hell are you?" Musa checked every direction, then suddenly strong explosions bursting into life and doing a, zealous hot tango of agonizing pain in her back as she was hit hard by dozens of sonic blasts at once from behind.

"Right here!" Dark Musa was suddenly flying right toward her, but Musa looked too fast and was catch off guard by the hard energy burst slamming into her chest, knocking off out the sky and craning against the roof of one of the few buildings still standing with no fires.

"Musa!" Tecna rushed over to give her best friend some assistance, but was soon flamed hard to the ground, sent craning across the hard ground as she hit by double energy blasts. Wincing in pain, she slowly got up and tried to ignore the pain stinging her body as she glared at her twin, who was sashaying her way over, a smug smile worn on her face.

"Now for a so-called, smart-ass digital fairy, that was a pretty idiotic," she smirked. "Never try to rescue you friend when you can barely rescue yourself."

This time Tecna was able to dodge the green blast shot her way and able to get a shot at attacking her psycho with her digital stunner, which shocked the poor twin like she been hit by a thousand-watt lightening before she fall to the ground.

Stella always wondered in life what it would have been like if she had a sister or was a twin, but now she could clearly see life would become hell. Someone would be like her shadow, or possibly she would be overshadowed by someone else arrogant and cocky, acting like she was a wise-ass and not afraid to show her conceited side. The same way psycho Stella was acting, which was overall sickening to watch and even more painful to be part of the sick show. Stella had to watch in dismay as her evil twin would always dodge any attack thrown her way with the swift speed of light, her most powerful spells and attacks getting absorbed or simply deflected off, and the worst of them all- getting hit by spells she was planning to do next but psycho Stella making sure she would beaten to the punch.

Literally.

"You remind me of someone I know," Stella said as she was struggled to break free from her twin's grip, which was in a tight headlock and making her slowly lose consciousness. The more she struggled to break free, the more the grip would tighten and the quicker her vision would become black. "That blue-haired, snotty and bitchy Betta chick whose mother came close to taking over my kingdom, tried to steal my throne, and made it her life goal to make my life miserable."

"Was that supposed to be an insult? Because it sounded more like a compliment," Her twin smugly smiled as she tightened her grip, the suffocating sounds escaping from Stella's lips sounding like wonderful music to her ears. "It's going to be such a shame to kill because I always wanted to have a life mannequin to try out all the clothes I'm thinking of wearing, but this a plus side I'm more than happy to look forward to."

"And what exactly was that?" Stella demanded.

"With you out of the way, your dear snookums is all mine for the taking." She was quite please with the tension her little comment caused, smiling a slow cat-like smile as she felt anger tensing up Stella's body. "But don't worry, sunshine. I'll make sure to take really good take of him."

Anger was the key element making Stella worry less about the pain she was feeling in her body and more about the thought of her Brandon being handled by some wanna-be chick, much less some wanna-be that looked like her. Sweet anger combing with the sweet heat shimmering from the burning energy coming from her power, combing together and being one.

Her entire body was glowing bright golden-yellow, not like she was kissed by the sun but was instead the sun shining down on everyone. Every inch of her body was radiated with the bright glow, reflecting like golden sunrays, and burning the skin on her double who immediately released her from grip. Energy, so much anger and sun energy, was running uncontrollably throughout her body, and was released into a huge explosion as she stretched out her arms. The explosion not only nearly blinded her and friends and her dark angel and destroyed half of the huge army of Shadow army the Guardian Fairies were fighting, but also drained some energy from the psychos and-most importantly- knocked her wanna-be out of the sky and sent her crashing through three buildings before falling smacking her skull hard against a steel-strong boulder rock, causing drips of crimson blood to leak from the serve bruising.

"New flash, bitch! Anyone who messes with my friends or even try to flirt with my boyfriend end up getting burned!" By the time the psycho looked up, a great mass of sunlight was hurling right toward and making everything in her vision fade away to blackness. She took her head and rubbed her eyes hard till she was able to see again, more hot with white-flash anger than ever, and was going to who was a bitch who needed to be taught a lesson.

"I don't mean to burst your dad's bubble, but as odd as this place may be it doesn't seem so tough," Alaric mimicked Layla's voice, adding more sharp sass to the tone, deliberately ignoring the chilled, death glare Layla was sending him with a strong message, loud enough for ears to hear : she got the picture. "Brilliant Layla. Absolutely, positively brilliant. About you wish we all get thrown off this bridge next, sliced into a million pieces, or probably dive into the lava and let our deaths be done with it already."

Layla was perfectly aware she majorly screwed up by jinxing them and didn't need Alaric to constantly remind her of it. Being dangerously close to being pushed over the edge, she scowled at Alaric's direction and hissed under her breath, "If you don't shut your mouth in the next five seconds, I will shove my foot right your-"

"Can it the both of you!" Helia exclaimed. "We have to save Flora and get the heck out here."

"Helia's right," Bloom agreed. "Stella and gang are distracting Libitina, so she doesn't know she's here, but there's no telling what she's doing to them. Or how long they'll long before…" Her voice trailed off as she gulped, unable to say the next words without her stomach sickly churning at the horrible possibilities.

"Don't think like that, Bloom," Layla insisted. "I know Musa, Tecna, and Stella, and I know they can handle themselves. And so can Nabu and the others."

"Your friend is right. Your friends may be strong themselves and have high spirits, but Libitina is stronger and can easily tear them to shreds. There's no telling what is going on…or how she's dealing with them now." All three friends gulped from the chillness of Alaric's tone, feeling sick by the thought of it.

"Looks like we're going to be eating good tonight, boys." One of the monsters hissed, a dark smile on his face as he and his friends closed in on them.

"Sorry but looks like that's going to change," Bloom said, and then glanced at Layla. "Ready Layla?"

"You can count of it!"

The girls leaped high in the air and transformed, soaring through the sky and dodging the skyrocketing blasts of lava as half the army of the monsters surrounding them were now chasing after them, blasting with blasts of energy from their mouths and hands. Leaving Helia and Alaric to deal with the rest of the monsters on the bridge, Helia ready to fight with his laser glove and sword handy by his side, Alaric sticking out his left hand and transforming it back to its' true monstrous form.

"Nothing brings two friends together like a good fight." Alaric smugly smiled.

"I'm not your friend!" Helia scowled, and the two worked together as one team to take down the creatures. One would punch while another kicked, as one swing trap a creature in his tight bound the other would use his sword to end its' pathetic life.

Bloom raised her hands over her head before bringing them down and releasing her famous, powerful fire blast from her palms, yelling "Fire blast!"

The fire hit the creature, its' body being surrounded by the fire, but the spell didn't seem to have much affect on the monster at all. If anything it seemed to be making it stronger. It smirked at the astonishment expressions on Bloom and Layla's faces and sucked the energy of the fire blast whole, swallowing it up with a disgusting burp.

"That thing just ate my power!" Bloom stared in dismay.

"They're lava creatures, so they're already made from lava. Let's see if my magic will have any effect on them." Layla conquered a Morhpix-energy, spike ball the shape of a volley ball and aimed it at the same monster that Bloom tried to destroy previously.

The creature didn't eat the magic but was only affected by the spell only by a tiny bit, shaking it and releasing a huge burst of dark energy from his mouth the girls were barely able to avoid getting hit by.

"These guys are way tougher than they look!" Layla said.

"Ya think!" Bloom squealed as she was close to getting hit by yet another energy blast.

Fortunately, unlike the girls, the boys were having more luck fending off the monsters. The two may hate each other more than the other could possibly known yet were an unstoppable team and a force to be reckoned with as they fought their way through dozens of monsters.

"Aah!" Helia exclaimed as he sliced off the head of one monster, watching as it crumbled into pieces and vanished from sight. Then as he moved onto the next monster, who proven to be the strongest and most powerful out of the bunch, he suddenly heard a loud scream, which immediately caught his attention.

Ignoring the fight for one moment and whirling his head around, Helia watched in horror as one of the lava gushes skyrocketed high in the sky and hit Layla's wings, causing the young fairy to scream in pain as her beautiful wings were reduced to burnt crisps spilling down her back, leaving her powerless and transforming her back. Bloom was trying to fight off two ghouls with her fire powers, which were doing little to weaken them and more to strengthen them, she was hit by double energy blasts exploding from the monsters' mouths, slamming against her chest and hurling her heard against the rock-hardened wall, rending her powerless and causing her to transform her back. With both girls out of power and no Winx to back her up, there was no wings keeping them steady in the air anymore and they were found themselves falling fast toward the lava, screaming loud at the top of their lungs.

"Layla! Bloom!" Helia wound his hand back, getting himself into position, and fired his cords from his glove, watching as they wound themselves around the girls' waists. Before he could reel them in, something heavy and hot was bashed against the back of his head with a hollow ringing echoing in his ears. His body went limp and could, blackness swept across his vision, and he found himself falling fast toward the lava.

Alaric finished the last creature, which was too busy laughing at Helia's horrible luck, by ripping his head off with his bare hand, blood sprouting out in huge gushes like after gushing from a water fountain, and then sliced the body into millions of pieces and swept them out from the bridge. With the creatures done and finish, he leaned over the bridge and watched screaming Layla and Bloom and an in-and-out conscious Helia falling toward the lava.

Should he or shouldn't he saved them? That was the question going through his head he wanted so badly to know the answer to.

"Alaric!" Helia screamed.

_Would be tempting to watch them burn into crisps and that would solve my Julio problem once and for all_, Alaric thought as he tapped his chin. _I did always wonder if it would be fun to watch him burn. _

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!" the girls screamed an ear-scattering shriek, causing Alaric's eardrum to nearly crack.

_On the other hand_, he wondered. _There really isn't much fun involve watching his death when it wasn't caused mine involvement in it. I always did want him to die at my hands._

"Alaric!" Helia screamed louder.

_But he did killed Rosalina in the end, which he clearly needs to pay for. And it would solve my problems._

"_ALARIC!_" they all screamed, at the top of their lungs and as loud as a voice could shout, in unison.

"Lord Almighty in heaven above knows I am so going to regret this later on," Alaric sighed and rolled his hands, and then, without any hesitation or questioning, he flung himself off the bridge. Dropping low fast like the others but wasn't screaming like they were.

Instead he was closing his eyes and focusing his mind on a very strong concentration, which required full concentration.

_Never thought I would ever use this form again_, he snapped his eyes open, which was luminous and wide as midnight, a soft glitter flashing through him as his body began to shift.

"!" they were prepared for deaths they were now only less than seven inches away from the lava, quickly getting closer and closer.

As they were merely an inch away from leaving this lifetime and meeting the eyes of death, they found themselves falling onto something cold as ice yet smooth as hard as stone, which they soon realized they were riding on the back of a demon soaring higher and higher through the sky. They had to hold onto him tight as he zoomed his way through lava gushes and poisonous gas-filled exploding bubbles, shoot energy blasts from his mouth at monsters who blocked their way, and finally made it to the other side of the bridge, landing right in front of the door and lowering himself down on the ground so they could get off nice and easy.

Once they were off, Bloom, Layla, and Helia stood in front of the creature and stared at him for awhile, burning his features into memory.

His size was as great as a bear but mighty as a lion with the height of ten' nine feet, skin the color of golden beige with steel blue on his claw and toe nail tips, with a pair of large bat wings and had the appearances of a creature what was a cross between a skeleton and a chiropteran. But once they looked into those eyes, shining onyx eyes as luminous as the night sky, they knew immediately who it was.

"Alaric…" Bloom breathed.

"Yes?" the creature replied, the voice sounding almost the same but also different. Less smooth and huskier, with hissing snap of a snake behind it.

"Oh my god." Helia and Layla whispered.

Why I am not surprised that would the kind of comment I would receive from mere lunatics? Those words were heard out loud for them to hear it, but his mouth wasn't even moved. Without waiting for a response, Alaric stretched out his arms and wrapped his bat wings around himself, then without any effect he was transformed back into his usual, mind-boggling beautiful yet ultimately smug self.

"You all look like you've seen the face of the Holy one," he smirked, then glanced at the huge, double doors standing in front of them before looking at them again. "Well, shall we do the honors?"

He and Helia worked together to push the heavy, stone-hard doors forward, letting a bright golden light flood into view. They looked at one another and nodded, and walked through the doors together with the door softly closing behind them and disappearing from view.

The place they were at was almost like the Magix city Libitina has redone with her magic, with the place looking gloomy and full of darkness. But the only thing that linked this place to Magix was the fact it was deserted and depressing enough to make someone feel extremely gloomy. The sky, or where the sky would have been, was a horrible gray of nothingness with vivid red bolts streaking across it and dripping down it like blood dripping from a wound. No sun. No moon. Nothing but a horrible gray color and bright red that were hurting her eyes just by looking at it.

It was empty.

Empty of movement, empty of sound, empty of people, empty of anything relating to reality.

They were actually the only things disrupting the terribleness of the emptiness around them. The colors they were wearing on their bodies, the skin tones and colors of their skin volume to high, solid colors nearly blinding one another as they glanced.

"This is where Flora is at?" Bloom asked.

"This is the exactly same place where I felt the spilt half of Libitina's soul escape to. Though I'm not exactly sure why that out of all the places in all the dimensions would she escape to here." Alaric answered.

"So where do we start looking?" Layla questioned. "I don't even know where to start."

Helia squinted his eyes and scanned around the area, seeing nothing and nothing expect for emptiness. Suddenly his eyes saw a shape a short ways in the distance next to what could-or should have been- a river, reaching in and reaching out. It looked like she was picking non-existing flowers. The girl turned, like she felt the strong gaze of his eyes burning into her, and he saw her face clearly.

Before he could draw in a breath, the girl was already on her feet and running. Running right into a huge church he didn't even know was there until now.

"Wait! Stop!" He found himself taking after her full speed, with the others following close behind, following into the church, which was why bigger than it appeared on the outside and saw she was gone.

"Helia, what's-" Layla was interrupted by Helia's urgent plea.

"I saw her. By that invisible river or whatever, picking flowers."

"Who?" they all asked, but soon hushed themselves as they heard a quiet sound.

Signaling them to be quiet, Helia made his steps and movements as quiet as a mouse as he tip-toed his way over to the front of the alter, where Bloom remembered from Sunday masses where the priest would stand and preach, then turned left to the alter, near the oil glass windows where a figure, covered in a gray, bland-looking cloak, her face covered by the hood pulled over her head, back turned to them.

Helia approached her quietly and slowly approached her, not wanting to do anything to scare her off or to bring any alarm to her, and then quickly came off with the cloak in a hearbeat. Gasps escaped the mouths of three people behind him while he only took in a sharp breath as he was face-to-face with a face he thought he would never see again.

"Flora?"

"Who…who are you?" the girl asked in a low murmur, her eyes held with great sadness and fear, filled with un-shed tears.


	28. Chapter 28

_Previously_

_Signaling them to be quiet, Helia made his steps and movements as quiet as a mouse as he tip-toed his way over to the front of the alter, where Bloom remembered from Sunday masses where the priest would stand and preach, then turned left to the alter, near the crystal-glass windows where a figure, covered in a gray, bland-looking cloak, her face covered by the hood pulled over her head, back turned to them. _

_Helia approached her quietly and slowly approached her, not wanting to do anything to scare her off or to bring any alarm to her, and then quickly came off with the cloak in a heartbeat. Gasps escaped the mouths of three people behind him while he only took in a sharp breath as he was face-to-face with a face he thought he would never see again. _

"_Flora?"_

"_Who…who are you?" the girl asked in a low murmur, her eyes held with great sadness and fear, filled with un-shed tears._

Murmurs in disbelief, eyes popping wide as an eye can go, and shaking of the head was all happening behind him while he was in front of them, as if trying to block their view of her, as he was too speechless to think of a proper sentence.

After all this time he finally found his beloved, which he was too happy for words to describe as he stared at her, but the longer he stared at her the longer he could see there was something no quite right with her.

There was no mistaking the girl sitting in front of them was their nature girl, but in a way she wasn't the same girl they remembered who said goodbye to them as she stepped away and performed the spell. For starters, by the shock and fear look flashing in her eyes showed she had absolutely no clue who they were. She didn't recognize them at all, especially Helia who suffered from heartbreak, and not only but she also feared them, as if they were going to bring harm to her or do something much worse than that.

By her appearance, Helia had to question whether or not she was properly taken care of. Yes, she was still beautiful as a rose and more importantly was still a teenager instead of being a little kid like he feared, but besides the fact her breathtaking eyes held shock and fear of them, her long caramel hair was tied into a sloppily-done bun being hold by a piece of slim vine, she was dressed in a knee-length whitish-gray sleeveless dress that looked like it was made out from a cotton blanket and had a braided rope-like belt tied around her waist and her feet was barefooted.

While Helia was lost at words he wasn't sure what to say to her, Bloom took a step forward toward a fearful Flora, who was cowering away till her back was arched against the cool glass of the window. "Flora, don't you recognize us? It's us. Your friends, remember? Bloom and Layla. And Helia, the man you love. Don't you remember it all?"

Instead of answering the question, anger started blazing like wild fire in Flora's green eyes. "Raven!" she called out.

"Who in the name of Christ is-Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Before he could even blink, Alaric was slammed hard on his back, on the cold and hard ground, and was being attacked by a small bird, who despite her size was one tough bird and had a strong, sharp pecking beck.

"Flora, listen I know you're scared but we can help-" Helia was cut off by her.

"Leave me alone!" She grabbed her cloak back from him, but not before swinging a insanely strong kick to his private, which caused all thought to be erased from his head as he got down on his knees and fell face-first to the ground, and showering Bloom and Layla with millions of pollens, blinding them. Quickly as she took her cloak and flee from the scene, raven pecked Alaric one last time, taking a big snap, before she went out and followed her.

"Well, that went well," Bloom said after she and Layla recovered from the surprise attack. With all those pollens surrounding them, it was so hard to see anything and some got into her eyes, watering them a little.

"I don't understand," Helia said through his pain as he got up, wincing a bit. "Why doesn't she remember us?"

"Oh, are you okay, Alaric? Yes, I'm fantastic. It's always amazing to have a maggot bird use my face as an all-you-can-eat buffet, thank you very much for the deep concern." Alaric's beautiful face was badly scarred with rough scratches at nearly every inch, inflicted with harsh bruises and drips of blood spilling from the severe wounds.

Layla rolled her eyes at his sarcasm, thinking again how ridiculous and childish he was acting. "You didn't bother to care when bad things happen to us, so why should we care when bad things happen to you?"

Alaric glared at her, making a mental note to himself to get back at her when the time was right. Turning his head toward Helia, he said "Don't forget when I said I knew where you friend was, I never said she would be the exactly same girl she once was when she was spilt from her own soul."

"Alaric!" Bloom exclaimed, frustrated. "Enough with your mambo-jumbo crap and please let it all out. What the heck is going on with Flora?"

"Your friend may have not been destroyed once she performed the prophecy of her birth, but that didn't automatically mean she was going to be the same girl, the same gentle-loving, nature-power Flora you all remembered her as. She has changed, though I myself am not entirely what is in her that changed but I have a pretty good hunch. When the part that was Flora was spilt from her soul and escaped to this unusual setting, something inside was erased. Memory would be the key concept. I believe, after witnessing the little stunt she pulled on Miss Snappy and red-head, she knows she has powers and has control over nature, but everything else that has happened in her life and everything and everyone once familiar to her is now erased."

"So what do we do now?" Layla asked. "She won't go with us if she can't remember everything but we have to bring her back. Only problem is I think she and her bird will attack us the moment she sees us again."

"She's scared, Layla," Bloom told her. "She almost…like a child in a way, a little and innocent kid trapped inside the body of an eighteen year old girl. She just needs some time."

"Time, I'm not entirely sure if you noticed, redhead, is not on our side," Alaric retorted. "Believe it or not, we've been gone for almost a day and we're in nighttime now. I give your friend till sunrise tomorrow to come and show herself at the crack of dawn; otherwise I'll hunt her down myself, compel her, and bring her with us. There's no telling how much longer your friends can handle Libitina."

"There's no way in hell you're compelling our friend!" Layla snapped.

"First off, in case you haven't noticed your friend doesn't seem to remember meeting you all. Second, I've had to up to there," Alaric gestured his hand two feet above the top of his head. "With you and your snappy attitude. Believe me, sweetheart, you don't want to cross paths with me. You'll only live to regret."

"Is that supposed be some kind of threat or promise?" Layla frowned as she and Alaric were face-to-face, both wanting to do awfully horrible things to the other. "In case you forgotten this whole mess is your fault-"

"I'm already aware of that, Miss Mighty one. You always remind every ten seconds."

Layla continued on, as if she wasn't interrupted. "Because you were seriously obsessed with some girl who never loved you in the first place. What's the real reason why you want to help us bring down the same girl whose shoes you'll lick in a heartbeat if she asked you to? Was it because you were upset she thought you were a pathetic, little man who wasn't even worth of being her play toy?"

The urge to smack her right across the face, with more than enough force to send her flying toward the ground was so strong he even held up his hand for position. The moment his hand was only a second away from being smacked against her cheek, Alaric stopped himself just in time and wordlessly stared into anger-blazing yet panic eyes of the princess Layla, feeling like he was back in time and having another heated discussion with Lauren, whom personality and attitude was so much like her descendant it was mind-boggling. He took in a deep breath, reminding himself to calm down, as he lowered his hand and then pointed his sharp finger at Layla. "Consider that your first and last warning to never push your luck and cross my path. I may not have done things as brutal as Libitina, but I certainly have my share of doing disturbing things to people I loathe. If you be one of them…well, let's just say things will not end so lucky for you and it would bring such pity to Tides if something were to happen to the so-called _beloved_ princess."

"Guys!" Bloom stepped into the middle and placing her hands on their chests, pushing the two apart from each other before things would start to get real ugly. "Look, if we really want to stop Libitina, then we need to start working together instead of killing each other. Because you got hit by lava gushes, Layla, and I got hit by that energy blast, it's going to take some time for our Winx to regenerate again. So until then, I say we make a campsite around here to stay the night before we leave."

"Fine." Layla said, still glaring at Alaric.

"Fine then." Alaric snapped with a cock of his head.

"Alright then," The two may not see eye to eye and be each other's favorite person, but it was still a whole lot better they agree to at least not kill each other. "Helia, what do you think?"

They all turned around and save the young hero was gone from sight.

"Where did he go?" Bloom asked, glancing around.

"Three guesses," Alaric said as he held up three fingers. "All the same and I'm pretty we all have a pretty good hunch to the answer."

While the others were planning what their next step was going to be, Helia sneaked away from the scene and took the back door out of the church, his eyes glancing around the outside to see if there was anything left behind indicating to where she might have ran off. But found nothing. Frustrated, he kicked at the ground beneath his feet and murmur vicious curses under his breath.

He couldn't believe it; it was all still too surreal. Flora was not only still alive, but he saw her only a few moments ago. Only problem was she didn't know who was she and had no clue who he was. Although he was aware she wasn't at fault, she didn't remember anything about him or the precious thing they shared together.

"If you're anywhere around here and can hear me, please know we won't hurt you. We would never do anything of the sort to you. I would die before I lay a hand to hurt you. We're going to be staying at the church till early tomorrow, then we'll leave. I would really love it if you came so we can talk, but it's still your choice if want to."

When he heard no reply, Helia sighed and then returned back inside the church with his friends. As soon as the door closed behind him, the caramel-haired girl emerged from her hiding place, with her raven bird sticking close to her, and leaned her left side against the church wall, staring at the spot where the blue-haired young man was just at. Raven was gently pecking at her from behind, as if to say it was time for them to move on before they were spotted again. Only she couldn't, not yet when her head was spinning with thoughts and feelings and she was feeling more confused than ever.

Flora? Was that who she was?

It was the first time she ever heard the name before, but it had such a strong impact on her. It would echo repeatedly inside her head, stirring up unusual flashes in her head starring a girl who looked an awfully like her, churning her stomach from the mix of odd feelings bubbling inside her and ready to burst from her own skin. Everything was so confusing, her head felt suddenly so full it was close to exploding.

Behind her, Raven was chirping a bit louder than unusual and pecking her more, losing her patience.

"I'm coming, Raven," she murmured, still staring at the spot where the man disappeared from.

He was a bit odd to her and strange, but there was no denying he was one of the beautiful men she has ever met before in her life. A face breathtakingly allure and flawless, beautiful midnight hair tied into a low ponytail and looked so fine enough to touch and run her fingers through it, and a body so lean and muscular, looking so good in that uniform he was wearing she was blushing from the thought of it.

He was odd yet beautiful, but she had a gut-wrenching feeling in her stomach she met him, actually known him from somewhere before.

_Get up._

The voice was brittle, harsh. Musa winced from the sound of the brutal tone, turning to her left and snuggling her body into a ball, wishing it would go away.

_Get up_.

She groaned, turning her body to the right side, shutting her eyes tightly and wanting nothing more than have a few more moments of much-needed rest, or preferably hours, before she's forced to wake up again.

_Get up!_

This time the owner of the voice skipped firmly talking, turning her voice to full-blast yell central. Musa sighed, admitting defeat and finally opened her eyes. The first thing that came into view was the blooded sky, the smell of thick, black smoke intoxicating the air with its' foul stank, and destroyed building remains towering over her. One of one the remain building was her double, Dark Musa, swinging her left leg back and forth as she sat on the building, glaring down at Musa with amusement laughing in her red eyes and a smirk worn on her face.

"Morning, sunshine," she smirked. "It's such a beautiful day today, wouldn't you agree? I don't really find any need for you to be up. I'll kill you right where you stand."

Musa shrieked and flee, as if her life depended on it-which it did-as her twin shot two double, powerful blasts from her hands, nearly hitting her. Dozens of sonic and sounds blasts were following behind her, which she was barely avoided getting hit by inch, and fled to a building where she could see her friends were all together and gathered around.

The moment she landed on her feet and went over to join them, she motioned them to be quiet. Moments passed and still nothing could be heard. They all breathed in and sighed in relief.

"How are you guys holding up?" Musa said, only to get answered by groans and glares to let her know exactly how they felt.

"It's officially," Stella said. "I never, ever want to have a birth sister or even a twin sister if she's going to anything like Dark Stella. Because if I do, then I'll be living in one hell of a nightmare."

"Thanks to psycho me," Roxy said, whose Winx outfit was looking less beautiful like the first time they saw it and more torn-up and could nearly pass as ratty rags. "I almost lost my love for animals, because all the spells and attacks I throw at her she throw right back. Only harder."

"It's pretty much the same way we're being treated by all our psychos," Tecna said. "We need to regroup and think of some plan to beat them."

"No offense, tech girl," Riven snapped, earning himself a round of hard, not-in-the-mood glares. "But I have a pretty strong feeling no planning or going over stupid calculations is going to help us deal with those psychos."

Timmy sat down on a rock, bringing his head down in shame and shaking it as he ran both hands through his hair, which wasn't looking too hot right now. Tecna went over to give her boyfriend some comfort, but when she tried putting her hand on his shoulder he shrugged it away like he couldn't even stand the touch. Sighing, he said "Riven's right. I gotten enough bruises, punches, kicks, and hits from psycho Timmy to know data and calculation aren't going to help us. Then again, I think we all found out that the hard way from our fights."

Like Timmy, the boys weren't looking so hot themselves. Harsh bruises on their outer appearances, cuts and scars inflicted on their faces, and their Red uniform featured many tears and rips. The girls' fairy dust could heal anything, but the only problem was there was so much healing it can do before it was impossible to do anything. Like the guys, the girls were also suffering from harsh bruises, but it was mostly bruises inside them that were causing them the real pain, and their Enchantix form was close to becoming more like rags with so many shards and tears.

"Come on, guys," Sky said. "We can't give up. Bloom, Layla, and Helia are no doubt going through hell right now being with Alaric, but we can't let them down. We can still pull through, distract Libitina for as long as we can, and buy them enough time to find Flora and bring her back here."

"Oh, I don't think so, pretty boy," Everyone frozen into place from the chills of that voice, looking at one another with fear and panic in their eyes, automatically gulping lumps clogging their bone-dry throats before looking up and seeing all their twins hovering in their sky. Arms folded across chest or hands placed on hips, dark smiles spreading across their faces, and their red eyes glowing with evil wickedness.

"In fact," Dark Brandon continued. "There has been something going through my head while I fought pretty boy's friend."

"What?" both the psychos and non-psychos asked in unison.

"There's some sneakiness going on and I think our queen wouldn't be so happy if she wasn't aware it was happening right under her nose."

"You wouldn't dare!" Sky growled.

"Oh, but he would." Dark Nabu answered.

"But of course," Dark Sky shrugged. "Brandon doesn't like spilling secrets and the rest of us don't like telling them."

"Well, all of us except for psycho Stella, who always love sharing juicy gossip," Dark Roxy and Stella's twin shared a smirk, then Dark Stella winked looked down at them before flying off to Libitina, who was sitting on a brand-new throne more fantastic and bigger than her old one, watching the show unfolding before her.

"No!" Stella and the girls quickly fired their most powerful spells at Dark Stella, with the guys' help firing from their blasters and Nabu shooting energy blasts from his staff.

But the psycho was too quick and reached Libitina, forcing the gang to watch in horror as psycho Stella leaned in close and whispered the delicious information to Libitina, the smirk on her face growing more vicious and wider as she told every single word.

The gang held onto each other tight, shutting their eyes and saying their final prayers before meeting the eye of death. But they didn't expect the next moment to happen next.

Libitina absorbed the new information she had been told about the sneakiness, which was one of things always getting under her skin and always resulted deadly consequences for someone else, and nodded her head. She then dismissed the case with a wave gesture of her hand, shaking her head only slightly before cocking it to one side. "Yes, I already know."

"Huh?" they all said, arching their eyebrows, confused.

"But how did-"Stella said, only to get cut off by Libitina, who was darkly chuckling under her breath as her infamous sweetly dark smile was spreading across her face, curving up the corners of her lips.

"I'm disappointed in you insects. Your relatives may have been annoying to deal with, but at least they weren't entirely ignorant of my ability and what I can really do with my powers. I'm already aware that a mere part of my reincarnation still exists and your friends and the reincarnation of Julio are embarking on a journey to get her back to this world, with the help of that treacherous Alaric. If there is one thing I despise most of all is traitors, who are going to wish they never crossed my path."

"It doesn't matter what the hell you do to us, witch!" Sky yelled. "My girlfriend and our friends will find Flora and bring her back. And there's nothing you can do about it."

Libitina laughed again, more brutal and colder. "That's rich, little boy. Real rich. I may not be able to stop them physically, but my powers can reach the underworld and make little surprises for them."

She closed her crimson eyes for a moment, and as she opened them again they were luminous and bright as the silvery moon. Only she wasn't looking at the gang and her mind was far, far away from Magix, now at the heart of the underworld. Looking at the double-sided doors where she felt the others' presence inside and glared at the statues guarding the doors, smiling as she thought they would make the perfect toys for her new game.

_Those lava creatures may not have been able to finish the game for me_, she thought, as streaks of blackness were wrapped around the statues, covering them from toe to head, transferring some power to them and making them her warriors. _But I somehow doubt they'll have that much luck with these creatures._

She giggled mischievously as she watched the statues' dead eyes glow bright red as blood.

With everything decided about tomorrow and how things will go down, they decided to rest up at the Church, which was no hotel and the greatest place to stay at but they were going to have to bear with they got. Bloom and Layla were resting up at a row of alter in the middle, right next to each other, with Layla lying on her back and often changing her position, mumbling and groaning in her sleep, while Bloom was sound asleep and her body curled up into fetal position. Alaric was sleeping inside a golden-bronze, brad engraved coffin, taking up the most comfortable place to sleep in.

His eyes were closed and his facial expression was soft and peaceful, the kind of face expected to be seen as someone was in slumber, expect Helia wasn't exactly sure he was really asleep. Alaric was probably just going through thoughts filling his head with his eyes closed, so he wouldn't have to see another dark, hatred-filled glare reserved for him.

Helia was still awake, too anxious to even think about sleeping. He lit up all the candles inside the church, including the ones in chandeliers, with a pack of matches he found lying around and the lighter he quickly took from Alaric when he wasn't looking to shed some light in the depressing place. He then sighed, satisfied, sat down at near the glass windows, which was the exact place where he found her, and wrote in his journal he brought along for the journey in case he needed something to do. He hasn't written in the book for over eight hundred years, yet the feeling of holding it again his hands was so familiar and more right than ever.

_**March 23, 2010**_

_**I never thought I would write in this book ever again, but I'm glad I am. It's good to have something familiar to hold onto as I got through this horrible time. Years, centuries even have passed since last I've written in this very book and time has changed. Some things are the same they were when I was Julio and there are some things that are very different. In this lifetime I am known as Helia Gabriel and my family is still exactly the same, which I'm sad said to say hasn't changed that much. I met great friends, who are the greatest friends a man can hope to have and are actually descendants of my dear friends from the past. They are so much like their relatives, every one of them; it's extremely hard to tell who from whom. I still go to Red Fountain, although I still don't believe in the need of fighting and battling. But most importantly, I found my true love again. The reincarnation of my darling Rose, given the name Flora, a name that is just as beautiful as Rosalina. The resemblance between her and Rose is quite extraordinary, in same ways the two girls are exactly alike, but in other ways Flora is incredibly different from Rosalina and I mean that in a good way. **_

He went on and on about the day he met Flora, just like he saw in his dreams, more magical than he pictured it would.

_**I will admit I was ignorant of the past that very day, but the day Brandon came over to me and introduced me to his friends, the very second my eyes were locked into the breathless emerald greens belonging to the most beautiful, lovely girl I ever seen before in my life everything was immediately erased from my mind. Before that day, I knew I never met her before but feelings I never felt before were bursting inside of me and the only thought that came to mind was I knew I seen that lovely face somewhere before. Even though I couldn't quite remember where. **_

He continued writing about more times and moments he met with Flora and shared with her, writing about all the good times they had together and their love grew even stronger than before. Unfortunately he also had to write in the unpleasant moments, which mostly had a certain evil demon featured in the moments. He wrote about everything from the day Flora met Alaric to how she became the portal used the unleash darkness and evil.

_**All of this horribleness, this pain and suffering, had to happen all because of Alaric's and his cold ways and his selfishness. He was so obsessed with Libitina and blinded by what he felt for her, he couldn't think of anything else and in the end the poor sucker had to learn the hard way that when it comes to Libitina, you can never count on she'll keep her word or her end of the deal. As shocking as this may sound, he's the one helping us bring Libitina down with intentions no one else would ever guess. **_

Helia stopped writing for a moment as he looked up at Alaric and a flashback of what happened between them not too long ago flooded into his mind.

"_You're aware I can still feel your eyes watching me," Bloom and Layla were sound asleep, exhausted from quite the adventure they had for one day and decided to hit the hay. Surprisingly for once in his life, Alaric didn't say anything and went over to lie in the coffin. Helia didn't feel like sleeping for obvious reasons, so he was just sitting down on the ground and setting his gaze around whatever needed to be seen. He hasn't even realized he was staring at Alaric and for only who knows for how long till he was pointed out. _

"_In fact," Alaric continued, stretching out his arms and sitting up. "I've received enough glances from strangers in my lifetime to know they can't help but stare me. Of course, mostly I got those looks from women and since you're a man, or whatever species you are, I don't know what to make of it."_

_As much as Helia wanted to tell Alaric to stick his crude comments up somewhere else, he wasn't in the mood for it and decided to be the adult, turning his direction toward somewhere else and keeping his mouth shut. _

"_As much as I know love to say to I'm flattered you think I'm that attractive, I really think it's honestly sick and disgusting," There was still no response from him, which was slowly turning the smug smile on Alaric's face into a disappointed frown. "I think I can guess what's upsetting you. Upsetting you so much you don't shoot an insult back at me, which to me is an alert meaning something is wrong and the universe from be a second away from titling."_

"_If you are such a wise-ass and think you know everything, why not try to guess to what's going through my head." Helia snapped._

"_Gladly. It's not so hard to tell what's going through your mind since there's nothing really there in the first place, dim-wit."_

"_Would it seriously kill you to not call me _dim-wit_?"_

"_Actually, yes it would. Although it does depend on something else," Alaric shrugged. "Will there ever be a chance you'll finally stop referring me as the _devil-demon_?"_

_Helia met Alaric's hard glare with a cold look of his own, cold enough to freeze a heart with one glare. Given the looks on each other's faces as they had their stare-off, an obvious answer was delivered to that question. _

"_I guess we're going to be stuck with our nicknames forever then." Helia said. _

"_Guess so," Alaric replied. "I'll be known as devil demon and you as dim-wit forever and ever, for probably all eternity. Unless, for example, there will come a day when we're both crazy drunk and actually agree to be friends, thinking we can work out a friendship and put everything in the past behind us."_

_Helia nearly spit at the thought of something so disgusting and surreal. There was no amount of liquor in the entire universe or the most powerful magic that can make him easily forgive and forget everything horrible Alaric caused in his life. There was nothing in the dimension that can ever make the strong, deep hatred he felt towards the devil-demon go away, could erase how the mere sight of him already made his stomach churn in disgust, and hearing his name caused fury to fire in his veins. _

_Helia was so consumed with his heated, hatred-filled thoughts; he nearly didn't hear what Alaric was saying. He was able to snap back into reality to hear the last part of Alaric's sentence, "She's hasn't completely forgotten you, you know."_

"_What?" Helia asked, confused. _

"_Flora, remember her?" Alaric arched his eyebrow, mocking him. "The suppose love of your life and is reason of your existence? The reincarnation of the almighty and powerful Libitina? And I believe is a Pisces, because she was born on March 13. Ring a bell?"_

"_I meant what you just said, jackass!" Helia snapped. _

_After making a comment about how touché Helia was acting on defense and smiling a bit to himself he got a reaction from him, Alaric repeated himself. "I was saying the reason why you were so upset was because of what happened with your precious flower girl. She might have been a bit...more aggressive toward you than usual, but she hasn't completely forgotten about you," Watching the hatred in Helia's face slowly melt away, he continued. "You have to understand everything the poor girl once knew now lays in her sleep, resting in the back of her head and in her memories. Even though she doesn't recall some things, like you for example, right now, the memories are still there in her head."_

_Helia listened to Alaric's words for a moment, then nodded his head, considering them. "It's not that-" He cut himself off by taking in a breath and letting it out in a sigh, bringing his head down and looking down at the marble ground. "It's not that. Even though things didn't go exactly like I hoped they would, it's not the real reason why I'm so upset. The reason why I'm so upset is because of everything else."_

_Alaric stared at his rival for a full minute or two, studying him and listening to his words. "Care to elaborate?"_

_Helia wasn't exactly sure why he was talking about his thoughts with Alaric, but it did make him feel a bit better talking about what's been bothering him with someone. "I know that no matter what I say to try to convince you, you'll always think I was the biggest idiot in history for what I did to Rosalina. I suppose my intentions were selfish, but to me they seem almost right because I loved and cared about her so much. I failed her in the past and I knew we both would be reincarnated again, so…I also killed her because I can hoping I'll be able to protect her in the future and make sure the past wouldn't come back to haunt us."_

_Alaric shook his head, scratching his chin with a distinct, thoughtful look on his face. "A wise man once said those who don't learn from history are always doomed to repeat it. The whole reason why you and I are here together is because of one girl. A beautiful, indescribable yet selfish and manipulative girl we both were madly in love with but she was never ours to begin with."_

_As much as it pained Helia to admit the truth to himself, he saw Alaric was actually right. As shocking as it was, the man he hated was actually right. Rosalina may have loved him before all of this happened and might have also felt something powerful she couldn't quite explain toward Alaric, considering how long she kept him around, but not anymore. She was done with emotions, done with sympathizing with someone else and having emotions, which she saw as a complete and total waste. She only wanted them as her dolls, something to occupy her while she was bored and needed something to amuse her. She loved to kiss and cuddle with one of them, knowing the other was there and seeing the look of jealousy and hurt on his face, just to satisfy the needs of her games. _

"_The thing is…" Helia said, and then stopped for a moment to collect his thoughts before speaking again. "Rose thought the only reason why her friends and I were always protective of her was because we saw her as a little girl who always needed to be rescue. She wasn't aware we all thought she was the strongest out of all of us. She always kept herself together when things got rough and would the only person you could to never lose her cool when things would turn for the worse. She had such brightness within her, was easily able to light a room wherever she went, and had powers over Nature and Earth, which is a pretty strong power if you ask me. I knew she was strong and more than capable enough to handle herself, but if anything was to ever happen to her I would never forgive myself. I was so protective of her because I loved her so much and didn't want anything to happen to her. I just wish she knew that."_

_Silence fell into the moment, filling between the two men. Helia was still looking down at the ground, starting to find the sight a bit comforting in a way, as he cracked his knuckles, which seemed to be the perfect way to relieve his thoughts. Each time Alaric heard the crack, it was the sound of breaking bones to him, which was becoming irritating to him. To deal with the sound and the awkward silence, he grabbed a spare cigarette, thankfully dry, and lit it up. He stuck it in his mouth, took in a good breath in and felt the thick smoke filling his lungs, and as he opened his mouth, a steam of smoke was trialing out form his lips. _

"_When Rosalina had the power of the Midnight Raven, I immediately blamed you," As Helia spoke again, Alaric stopped with his smoking affairs and turned his attention to him. "Blaming you seemed so natural and easy, because it seemed like such a thing you would do if you wanted to. But after what you told me back at Sunnyvilla Paradise, I'm been doing some thinking. About what you said about why Rose took the power in the first place; it was because she was tired of us seeing her as some little girl. Sometimes when I'm alone, I always wondered if I just explained to Rosalina the reason why we were so protective of her, the reason why I acted like some bodyguard around her, then maybe things would have turned out different. It's no more your fault than it is mine. If I let Rosalina knew, then none of this would have never happened."_

_Alaric didn't a make comment. Instead he was focus on another activity and following a routine: only taking a puff of his cigarette, titling his head back to release a stream of smoke, and repeated the step again. Helia wasn't too surprised he didn't make a comment. Knowing Alaric, he was no doubt gloating about this right now and feeling so smug and happy with himself. _

"_I don't even know why I bothered to tell you," Helia muttered. "Seems pretty clear you don't care at all."_

_Alaric kept smoking and smoking his last cigarette till it was done to a tiny snub butt, crushed the butt in his hand, reducing it to ashes, and sprinkled it onto the floor beneath him. He stared at Helia for a while, not saying a word, and sighed while rolling his eyes and shaking his head. "There is no person at fault for what happened in the past. No other person's fault except for Rosalina. She was the one who knew exactly what she was getting herself into, let her jealously and selfishness get the best of her, and letting those very things became her downfall. It's no more your fault than it is mine."_

"_But-" Helia started to protest, only to get cut off by Alaric. _

"_If Rosalina truly loved you like she thought she did or how you claimed she did, then she would have realized why you and your friends were so protective of her. It was only because you all cared about her so much. She was too ignorant not to realize that, too blinded at the chance of getting the ultimate power to see or think of anything else. You shouldn't feel any guilt of what happened in the past because none of it was your fault. There was only one thing you were and are guilty of and that is loving her, which is a crime you and I already committed on a life sentence. Maybe even longer."_

_Helia looked up to meet Alaric's eyes and was shocked. Usually in Alaric's black eyes, often times there were nothing but blackness, most times coldness and smugness, or deep-filled iced glares. But this time, his black eyes were filled with genuine understanding and remorse. He was actually showing he was not only listening, but he was also showing some understanding. And that could only mean one thing. _

"_Rosalina did something horrible to you," Helia commented, watching as shock was flashed across Alaric's face, then the shock and the genuine emotions slowly died out, molting to cold and hard stone impossible to break through. "I know you're just going to tell me since this doesn't concern me, I should mind my own business. But I guess you can say I have a curious mind."_

"_Didn't your mother ever teach you to let you that curiosity kills the cat? Take it from me, it really does."_

_Helia should have met that crude comment with one of his own, but instead waited patiently for Alaric to start talking. If he was really acting this snappy, then that meant Libitina did something to really hurt him badly. _

_For what felt like nearly a century, Alaric stayed silent and looked at Helia for the longest time. He didn't say anything and glared back at Alaric, not planning to back down. After awhile of staring and becoming irritated, Alaric broke the silence by finally sighing as he turned his gaze away and told him everything that happened between him and Libitina, but left out some "risky" details he knew what made Helia really steam. _

_When he was finally done talking, he said nothing and fidgeted with one of the buttons of his tailored suit, still looking pressed and fresh like it was just out of the dry-cleaners instead of being wore on all day for fighting. While he was fidgeting away, Helia was now the one quiet. He wasn't sure what to say because there was nothing he could really say about it. Except that maybe Alaric really got burnt and Libitina was far more cruel and harsh than the two men thought she was. _

"_Wow. Alaric, that…I'm-"_

"_I didn't tell you what happened because I wanted you to feel sorry for me. In case you haven't noticed, I'm not the kind of man who likes to be the one people feel sorry for. I find pity and sorrow pathetic and irritating," Alaric said, still fidgeting with his button and not wanting to look Helia directly in the eye. "I only told you so you would get off my back of being unfair and all that other garbage. Besides, there really is no reason to feel sorry for me because I most certainly don't. I like seeing that little breaking-point moment as a learning experience with learning lessons behind it. For example, never let something, like love, blind you from seeing and knowing what's really going on. And make assumptions and hopes on uneven possibilities."_

"_Still…I will admit I kind of, sort of thought you would always have something like that coming your way for everything you done-"_

"_You certainly mentioned that more than thousands of times. And that was only yesterday. All the other times you told me I would always get burned are countless."_

"_But still…it hardly seems fair."_

_Alaric shrugged, saying "We live in a world, a complete universe where unfairness seems to happen everyday and at every corner you turn. Life itself isn't fair, yet you and I are still expected to live in it. The moment I met Rosalina, life I always thought was so dull and worthless suddenly became worthy and pricless. I wanted her so badly, more badly than anything I ever wanted before in my entire life,"_

_That Helia already knew, but said nothing and learned to Alaric as he continued to talk. _

"_I grew so obsessed with her, loving her and wanting her more than the last day, nothing else mattered anymore. All I ever wanted was for her to return my love, but instead I ended up getting burned. More badly than I thought I would. Maybe I should have cried or choke up a bit, but instead I was steady and firm as a rock. A complete statue. But that moment was a bit of a wake-up call for me to finally snap out of my silly delusions and see what is real. I also learned a few things. Libitina is and always will be a self-centered, manipulative bitch who will never get tired of playing her sick games, I was blinded by what I felt for her and hoped I would finally get her to love me I ended up being labeled as a fool, and you and everyone else were right about something. Looking past their identical looks, Flora and Libitina are not anything alike."_

_Helia shrugged. "I guess you could say that they could or might have been alike if you compared Flora to the way Rosalina used to be like."_

_Alaric shrugged himself. "Except we both know what became of the seemingly, sweet and innocent nature fairy. She became the most powerful and darkest witch in history. So funny how people you never expected to change can easily be transformed overnight. A moment seems more like though."_

_Helia could have gone the smug way and gloated Alaric finally gotten what he deserved, but looking at him now he decided against the act. Although the walls surrounding Alaric were roughened with sharp spikes and hard as icy-cold stone, he could still see and read glimpses inside. Glimpses showing pain and betrayal, which meant Alaric was feeling way more pain than he was letting on and was obviously still hurting from Libitina's rejection._

"_So, what do you plan to do after when all this ends?" he asked. _

_There was a sudden blankness dawning in Alaric's eyes, which could only mean he hasn't thought that far ahead. "I only thought about helping you all get Flora back and showing Libitina no one makes a fool out of me. The rest of what I plan to do will probably come to mind later as we go through the rest of the journey."_

"_So does that mean you don't think you _might_ come back to stay at Magix?" Helia said. _

_Alaric's response to that question was a questioning look with his left eyebrow slightly arched. "Would you honestly like it _if_ I were to stay Magix?"_

_The two glared at each other, then slowly the silence between them was broken by Helia suddenly overcome with laughter and chuckling. After awhile of listening to him laugh, laughter was becoming contagious and it wasn't long before they were laughing together._

_Alaric wiped a tear from his eye and let out a breath, trying to calm his laughter box. "If it wasn't for the fact I found you to be such a dim-wit and detest you so much, I would have _almost_ liked you. Almost."_

_Helia nodded and a small smirk was slowly playing on his lips. "And if it wasn't for the fact I find you to be the biggest pain to my ass, a sharp throne to my side, and I hated you so much…I would have found you a little less irritating than you were."_

_Alaric nodded himself, respecting that. "I never thought in a million, billion years I would ever say this, but...I believe you and I just shared a moment."_

"_I guess we did." Helia shrugged. _

"_This just seems so surreal."_

"_I completely agree."_

"_Feel like completing this sweet moment by hugging it out?"_

"_Not on your life, devil-demon!"_

_They stared at one another again and were laughing together again._

_**We haven't exactly become friends and I thought we'll never, ever see each other as allies, but we did share a moment. It honestly felt good to have a civil conversation with Alaric instead of him putting on his jackass act and us throwing insults and crude comments at each other back and forth. I learned a bit more about him than what meets the eye. To be honest, I think we have a little more in common than we thought we did. We both were badly betrayed by someone we both loved and cared about, didn't come from the best families, and the very thing that connects us together is the love and longing we felt for a girl we found out in the end was nothing but selfish and cared for no one else but herself.**_

Helia thought back to the experience he went through when he fell into the lava, a test ritual of hell to see if he would really give into his temptation and set himself up for an eternity of suffering and misery. The oddest thing about it was, unlike the others who went through the same process as he did, fate or some other supernatural force decided to lend him a hand through his temptation. To show him there was someone else, besides Rosalina, who needed and deserved his love and protection even more.

More like a test to see which one of the two loves he had in his life was truly the one for him and was his real true love.

_**Love is truly a funny thing. Most of the times it makes your stomach feel like it's filled with butterflies and knocks you down hard on your face. Often times it's a drawn force, a pull to someone else that attracts you like a magnet. Mostly it's an indescribable sensation you never thought you would feel for someone else. The funniest thing about love is how often it's like you're living a story out from a romance or is a game played by a sneaky player. It's something people often fall in and out of, sometimes finding more than twenty loves in their life. Or in my case, you're still in love with your original lover and developed a new love for a new one. Falling in love with the same girl who was the reincarnation Doppler-ganger of your first love. **_

_**There is a part of me will always love Rose. No matter how many times she may have hurt me or the horrible things she has done in the past, a part of me will always love her forever. I thought there was no one else who would ever replace Rosalina, but I was proven dead wrong. Because there is a bigger part of me, practically all of me, that loves Flora. People might only assume the only reason why I love her so is because of her resemblance to Rosalina. But that is not true. I will admit the remarkable resemblance between the two of them is incredible and is what drawn me to her in the first place, but that's not the reason why I love her. Rosalina might have been a wonderful girl in the beginning, but she made up her mind of what she was doing and never once regretted her choice, though it cost the lives and pain of so many people including her old friends. Unlike Rosalina, Flora will never do anything to hurt me on purpose. I know she isn't manipulative and doesn't play mind games to her own satisfaction. I know she would never betray people for her own sake; instead she would risk her own to save another. I know she will never let anything, not power or jealously, change the person who she is. **_

_**One way or another we are all, including Flora, going to leave this place and go back to Magix. We will go back to help our friends, finally defeat the angel of darkness once and for all, and by God's will we will make sure this horrible, hellish nightmare will finally be put to seize once and for all.**_

Writing that last statement, Helia closed his book. 

It was close to early morning and he still hasn't seen Flora at all. Alaric said they had to leave early in the morning to get back to Magix and if Flora doesn't come by then, then Alaric will hunt her down and compel her with a glare to come with them. Alaric was pretty powerful with his hypnotist eyes, and he has tested it out on Flora before, which was an unfortunate success.

Alaric may think that was the simplest way for her to come with them without resist and easily, but that didn't mean Helia was all up for it. Truth be told, he hated it.

"I guess we'll have to find out in the morning." Helia murmured as he closed his eyes and sank into deep, warm unconsciousness. But soon the spell was broken as he suddenly heard noise.

He still kept his eyes closed, his posture limp and relaxed, and his breathing going in a regular pace and was kept at rhythm to give the appearance of sleep.

He heard the sounds coming from all the way back, at the front of the entrance. They were the sounds of footsteps coming closer and closer, coming closer to him. He felt a presence standing next to him, towering over him, and felt the gaze of their eyes settling on his face.

The person got down on their knees and traced every feature, every inch of his face, which looked so peaceful and beautiful in the person's opinion. Often times the hands would run fingers through his hair, sometimes acting bold as he they cupped his face in their soft hands and caress his cheeks, but slowly used a slender finger to brush against his lips repeatedly. And he could smell the sweet scent of their cool breath.

He quickly gripped onto the person's hands and opened his eyes, finding himself staring into green eyes. Green and teal blue mixed together, going into a much deeper connection and gazing at into each other for what felt like such long hours yet seemed so small and short.

But soon the moment was cut off short as green eyes were slowly becoming distinct and the spell was broken as she turned the other cheek. She was confused and scared, unable to properly explain or handle what sensation exploded inside of her. She was sure she had never had those kinds of feelings before, but the way it was so unbelievable and familiar gave her the impression she felt it before. A long time ago or a distinct dream she couldn't quite grasp.

"I-that-was-" she stuttered, not sure what else to day but could feel the strange feelings growing inside of her the longer the stranger's gaze was locked on hers and the longer she was near his presence. She didn't know what else to say, so she did the one thing she was sure someone else in her position would have done.

She took off running.

Again.

"Flora, wait!" Helia cried after her, immediately getting to his feet. It was by a great miracle she slowed down her pace and stopped in front of the entrance before she was completely out of the door.

She might have stayed, but she didn't make a response. Helia understood he was going to need to convince her more of his word.

"I know you're scared. And really confuse right now, but you have to believe me when I say I will and would never do anything to hurt you. I would rather die than do anything to bring harm to you and that's the solid truth. Please, you have to believe and trust me. You did once before."

There was still no response.

"Please Flora."

She looked over her shoulder and took in a deep breath while trying to make her face a cool, unreadable mask. "Who are you?"

"Helia Gabriel. It might not be a name you recall right now, but believe me it's familiar to you."

And the oddest thing was he was right. The name actually was familiar to her. Too familiar. "What exactly do you know about me?"

Helia couldn't help chuckling under his breath a bit, smiling softly at her so she wouldn't get the wrong impression he was laughing at her. "It's sort of complicated to explain. The best way to explain is with a story. A real-life tale about a girl who was a lot like you."

"Can you tell me the story?" she asked in a timid, unsure voice.

Helia nodded and walked over to her. When her eyes were filling with fear and panic, he stopped himself as he saw a good length away from her. He stretched out his hand toward her, offering her to take it. "Can you trust me?"

Flora bit her bottom lip as she shook her head, watching the hope in his eyes die out into devastation. She has a lot of good reasons not to trust him, most of them having to do with he was a stranger and strangers were never people who deserved trust. But she couldn't deny something deep within her was saying he was different and she could trust him. For whatever crazy reason, she went along with that feeling. "I do. I trust you."

A smile spread across his face, and then he led her to the spot where he was at till now and they both sat down on the ground.

Flora hesitantly rested her head on Helia's lap after she was overcome with a strange yet strong urge, lying on her side. She felt tension stiffening beneath her cheek, meaning he was surprised like she was by the certain move. "I hope you don't mind, do you?"

It felt so strange yet right to feel her next to him again. He hesitantly placed his left hand on her hair and waited for her reaction, wanting to see if she was comfortable with it or if he was crossing a line. Moments passed and still nothing, which left him with the thought she was comfortable with it. "No, not at all."

With his hand still placed on her head and slowly stroking her hair, he began to tell the tale. "There was a girl named Flora. She was beautiful and amazing, lovely and sweet as all the flowers you can imagine, and was unlike any girl I ever met before. Being the fairy of nature, she has complete control over Earth. She used that amazing power to fight along side me and our other friends, brave and strong amazing other fairies and Specialist heroes, against evil. We weren't always victorious in some of the battles, but always came out on top of the war. Flora loved the power of Nature and loved Nature the way a mother cared for their infant child. She used that power to fight for good and against evil, but most of her life she always felt there was a dark side growing along side with her. A dark side she learned more about with the arrival of her eighteenth birthday, and she was opened up to a new world and focusing back on the past…"

As he went on telling her the story, Alaric opened one eye quick to see what was all the ruckus was about and was a bit surprised to see the scene happening in front of him. He frowned a bit as he watched the way Flora was cuddling close to Helia. He might be over Libitina, but that didn't exactly mean he was all cheery about watching Helia and Flora acting so cute and couple-y together. It was sickening to him, not to mention infuriating.

He could be the jackass and ruin the moment by doing something obnoxious but funny. Although it would be more obnoxious to them but more funny to him.

_I_ _could also compel her while I'm at it to stay me some time_, he thought.

He could have easily done something for his own fun and he already had over hundreds of ideas running through his head about what he could do, but he decided not to the longer he watched them.

Helia, for the longest time since Alaric seen him, actually looked happy and relaxed. And it was all because of the girl lying on his lap.

Alaric was actually going to be the grown-up for the moment and let them have theirs, but he wasn't going to watch it.

Rolling his eyes, which had to be the hundredth time he done that today, and sighed, the beautiful blonde-haired man closed his eyes and went back to sleep. Being immortal he really couldn't sleep, so he settled with letting his thoughts run wild inside of him.

**A/N: This is one part of two-part chapter finale, which means the next chapter I post will be the final one of dark angel. Thank you guys for all the great ideas, reviews, and favoriting. I always thought I would never be a good author, but thanks to you I see I was wrong. For the next chapter, I hope you'll like it the way you liked this one.**

**Peace ;)**


	29. Chapter 29

_Previously_

_He could have easily done something for his own fun and he already had over hundreds of ideas running through his head about what he could do, but he decided not to the longer he watched them. _

_Helia, for the longest time since Alaric seen him, actually looked happy and relaxed. And it was all because of the girl lying on his lap. _

_Alaric was actually going to be the grown-up for the moment and let them have theirs, but he wasn't going to watch it. _

_Rolling his eyes, which had to be the hundredth time he done that today, and sighed, the beautiful blonde-haired man closed his eyes and went back to sleep. Being immortal he really couldn't sleep, so he settled with letting his thoughts run wild inside of him. _

Last night had to be the best night he had for such a long time. It was the first time he was ever able to sleep in peace with no horrible memories or dream to haunt him. All thanks to the angel wrapped around his arms.

Flora had listened patiently as he went on to tell her the story about her life, hoping it would explain some answers to her questions and jolt some memoires. When he finished telling her the story, she was quiet as a mouse for the longest time. So quiet he was sure all the information he told her was overwhelming and scared her. He looked down and saw the reason why she was so quiet.

She was fast asleep, not snoring but her chest heaving in and out as she breathed, a soft smile worn on her face.

Helia smiled, kissed her cheek softly, and lightly brushed his hand against her cheek. "Sweet dreams, Flora. I love you."

He woke up the next morning, the first one woken up while the others were still sleeping, to the sound of someone crying. Stretching out his arms over his head, Helia went to the back of the Church.

Flora was sitting at the far back aisle, lifting her knees up to her chin and wrapping her arms around them. She sealed her slips together, trying to silence her cries, while streams of hot tears were rolling down her cheeks.

Helia put his hand on her should as he kneeled besides her. "Hey. It can't be all that bad."

Flora shrugged his hand off.

"Maybe I can help." He said.

The only response to that comment was a shake of her head. "No one can help me."

"What is it?"

"I remember."

"You do?" he asked, confused. Then the realization hit him and he began to smile. "That's great."

"_No, it's not!_" the ice-cold sharpness in her tone nearly was sharp enough to cut through him, causing him to nearly jump. "It's not great, Helia. It's anything but great."

"Flora-" Before he could finish his sentence, he was already interrupted by her.

"Everything you told me in the story rang a lot of bells inside my head and memories were coming to my head. I don't exactly remember everything, because there are some parts that are fuzzy and some that are blank. But I recall quite enough. I know I was born for the sole purpose of helping Libitina get back her power, and it's all because of me being her reincarnation and doing what I was born to do she gotten what she wanted. Like always. There's nothing I can do."

"Yes, you can," Helia assured. "You just as strong as Libitina and just as powerful as she is."

"You don't get it!" she exclaimed, gesturing her hands toward herself. "I don't have my power anymore. Libitina got what she wanted and now she's done with me. I'm worthless now."

Anger blazed in his eyes, adrenaline was pulsing in his veins. He gripped her shoulders tightly and got close to her, his sharp aqua eyes boring through her, and said, "Never, _ever _say or think that about yourself every again! Do you understand me?"

The fire in his eyes was so intense; Flora couldn't remove her gaze away from it. She could only nod, nervously gulping, as Helia continued on.

"You are _not_ worthless! You never have been and you will never be," Stroking her cheek delicately, he softly said in a firm voice. "You're absolutely priceless. You're worth so much, there is no amount of money in entire universe that can put a price on how you mean to your planet, your friends and family, and to me. Libitina may have gotten what she wanted, but you can still stop her. You can still the save the universe from the wrath of the angel of darkness. You can still stop this and take back control."

Each time he said "you", he would giver her shoulders a slight shove, as if to knock some sense into her.

"But Helia-" Flora would say, only to get cut off by him, who wasn't finished yet.

"Do you remember what I told you when you were trying to save the flower of life at pixie village and you were so scared you would do something wrong?" Flora looked at him a bit confused and shook her head. Helia nodded and continued on. "I walked behind you, placed my hands on your shoulders and felt you tensing up by my touch, and told you this. Don't think. Use your heart, Flora. Your heart is very powerful, I know it. When you use your heart, you can achieve so many possibilities. And I, Bloom and Layla, and the rest of our friends will there for you every step of the way."

Flora was stunned by his words for a moment but slowly snapped herself out of it, a soft smile dazzling her face. "Thank you, Helia."

She leaned into him, laying her head on his chest and wrapping her arms around him as a sigh escaped her lips. Helia returned the embrace with one of his own, lying hid head on her shoulder and stroking her hair while feeling her fingers playing with his own hair. Although he couldn't really see it, he could still feel a smile spreading across her lips. If this were any other moment, Helia would have pulled back, leaned in close to her, and planted a sweet kiss to Flora's angelic, beautiful lips. He could have done that, only the time wasn't right. She knew how he felt about her, after he told her the story, and he could already tell she was remembering how she felt about him and how she was reliving those feelings right now. As much as he wanted to kiss her, it still wouldn't have been right. In a way, she was vulnerable and it would be wrong. So, he settled himself with holding her in his arms and never wanting to let go.

A loud sound between a tired yawn and clearing of the throat broke them apart. Both of them whirled their heads around to see Alaric stretching out his arms and sitting up in his coffin bed, looking tired as if he hasn't had enough sleep, and then watched a scowl darken his face.

"Just what I need to remind how miserable this day is going to be," he rolled his eyes. "Watching the star couple have their moments while I wake up."

"Morning to you, too, sunshine." Helia smirked, only to receive the screw-you finger from unhappy Alaric, who also gave him a look that said don't even think about pressing your luck.

"Morning." Bloom yawned as she woke up, and then Layla slowly got up after her. When she looked at Helia's direction and saw who was beside him, her eyes widened in surprise. "Flora! You're here?"

"Yeah," she replied with a nod. "I came last night after you were asleep and wanted to apologize about what happened yesterday. I'm really sorry."

"It's okay." Layla said.

Flora then turned to Alaric. "And I'm really sorry about what Raven did to you. She's just really protective of her, like an older sibling or some guardian angel."

"Yes, well thanks to that guardian angel my face was nearly in shards. Speaking of annoying birds, where is the demon? I want to properly repay her for nearly damaging my face."

"I don't really know. When I decided to go back to the church to see you all again, she and I sort of got into a fight and decided to go our separate ways."

"Why don't you tell us what happened to you over a nice plate of breakfast?" Whirling open her fingers around and around and walking over to the alter; Bloom did a quick spell she learned in cooking class. In a zap with some smoke, lying on a blue picnic blanket was eggs, bacon, and scramble eggs enough to keep all their stomachs stuffed.

As they ate while Alaric wouldn't touch any of the stuff, Flora was telling them what happened to her and how she got here.

"I don't really know how I got here. All I know was, while I was still sleeping, I was feeling so strange. Like…I was feeling spilt apart or something was being ripped out from me. Then when I finally opened eyes, I saw I was here, at this really strange place. I almost panicked because I didn't know what I was supposed to be doing here and because I was feeling so alone. Then, Raven came and showed me here to the church. Even though we were the only ones here, she was still very protective of her and stayed by my side. Or, at least she did until now and she disappeared."

"Disappeared?" Bloom repeated. "What do you mean she disappeared?"

Flora shrugged, as if she wasn't too sure how to explain it herself, and twirled a lock of her hair around her fingers. "I don't really know. All I know is that…when we decided to go our separate ways, she looked at me for the longest time and then flew up to the sky. She kept flying higher and higher till she disappeared from sight. And that was the last time I ever saw her."

Turning to Alaric, Layla asked "Do you think that could be a way out? Like some sort of passageway?"

Alaric drummed his fingers on his knee, considering it "Could be."

"Layla, do you think your powers regenerated yet?" Bloom asked. "Mine has but they're not as strong anymore."

Layla wasn't sure about that one. Closing her eyes and balling her hands into fists, she tried to muster all the Winx she had inside of her. A faint mauve pink glowed around her entire body, showing her Winx energy and also showing they're weren't as strong as before. "It's gonna be difficult using them like this. But it's better than nothing."

"I wanna try one spell before we leave. I've been worrying sick about Sky and the others," Turning to Flora, she continued "If you, I, and Layla combined our energies we can create a portal to show use what has been going on."

"Me?" Flora echoed. "But I don't-I don't think-"

"You were able to do that spell on us." Layla pointed out.

"Yes, but-" Flora started to protest, only to get cut off again. This time by Bloom.

"You still have your powers, Flora, but you only forgotten how to control them. Three Winx is stronger than two for this kind of spell. We have to see what's going on at Magix. I'm really worried about the girls."

Only reluctantly did Flora agree to try to help them with the spell. The girls stood up and walked farther down the alter, standing directly over the glass-window portrait of Jesus at his last supper with his twelve Apostles. Closing their hands and joining hands, Bloom and Layla thought about Magix, all the great and no-so great times they had there, their boyfriends and friends, using those thoughts to help direct their powers to a specific topic. Flora was mustering all the thoughts of friends she recalled from her memories and the place where they mostly hang out, using that to help fuel all the power she could feel inside of her.

The spell was a success. Slicing through the thin air in front of them, a visual portal appeared and showed them everything. Helia and Alaric quickly joined them to see what was going on.

Only now they wished they haven't seen it.

Magix was somehow looking ten times worse than it did when they saw it before, but it wasn't the sight of the nearly destroyed city that stunned them into silence. It was the sight of Morgana and her Guardian sisters getting overrun by the shadow creatures, who were multiple too many times it was impossible to keep track of them all. There has to over five hundred and that was just the total surrounding the three fairies, excluding the thousands more being created and joining the fight. As shocking that was, the real shocker was watching their friends getting beat up hard by themselves, dark Doppler-gangers obviously created from Libitina and were fueled with power from the energy of the Midnight Raven. The fairies, including young Roxy, and the heroes were trying with all their might left inside of them to fend off their doubles, but it was clear which side was having the better advantage of the fight and which one was close to losing the battle. Or close to completely losing the war.

They flinched as they watched Timmy take a hard punch to the jaw by his dark twin and then was knocked hard to the ground, the punch so brutal and hard they could actually feel the serve pain throbbing inside of them. Bloom held her breath as she watched her Sky getting tackled on the ground by his double, who was punching hard to the sides of his face back and forth. The more blood was spilled from his mouth and face, the more Bloom's heart would sink deeper and deeper. Layla watched Nabu firing a powerful energy blast from his staff, the attack bouncing off the double. Dark Nabu smirked at the stunned face of Nabu before releasing the same energy blast from his own staff, the spell twenty times hard and stronger than the first one, hitting Nabu hard in the chest and shocking his body, then knocking right through a glass door to the building, shards of broken glass mixed with spilled blood as they were splashed on the floor and Nabu was sprawled on the ground.

"Come on, tough guy," Dark Nabu taunted as he slowly walked over to the fallen Nabu. "Is this honestly the best you can really do? Because if it is, then beating you is going to be much easier than I thought."

So much horror and brutality was being displayed. As much they all hated watching it, their eyes were caught in a powerful trance and were unable to look away.

Finally Alaric got control of himself, deciding this was going on far longer than enough, and destroyed the portal with his clawed hand he used to slice through it right through the middle. "Well…that was interesting."

"_Interesting?_" Bloom exclaimed, her entire body tensing up uncontrollable with raging anger, converting into her fire power. So much anger was building up inside of her, feeding into her power, flames were flickering like wild tongues around her body, the flames brighter and wilder the more she was fuming. Even her thick locks of red were flowing wildly on their own, moving in wild waves of the blaze. "You call seeing our friends getting hurt interesting?"

"Well not, interesting per say like watching those three sisters on their reality show…" Alaric quickly ducked as flames were spouting from Bloom's eyes, her mouth, and hands, hurling toward his way. He prepared himself by dodging the punches Bloom was throwing with his fists and ducking the fireballs, then finally he grabbed the red-hot fire fairy by her wrists, ignoring the burns he was getting from touching her, quickly spun her around and around till he was sure she was getting dizzy and light-headed, and finally flung herself against the wall by their left, watching as she bumped hard by some alters along the way.

"Ow!" she mumbled, wincing, once the back of her head and her back were slammed hard against the stone-wall. Her raging anger died out in an instant and was forgotten as flaring pain was burning agonizingly and blisteringly every inch of her back and head. The pain was burning more severely as she sank to the ground.

"Bloom, are you okay?" Layla helped Bloom up and saw the red-head was biting her bottom lip so her pain wouldn't be known.

"I was perfectly fine till now and I saw what happened. Then my mood went from being clam to panicked, then from panicked to infuriated when he," Bloom directed Alaric with a curt nod of her head. "decides to act like Mr. Wise guy. Again!" 

Alaric responded to that with a roll of his eyes. "I didn't mean it was interesting what was happening to your friends. I mean what Libitina had done."

"What do you mean?" a timid Flora asked.

"Ever heard a quote from a famous man, who once said 'I am my own worst enemy,'" Alaric answered. "For every force in all the universe, there is an opposite force and that opposite often lives inside of them. In every good person, there is always a dark side in them. Flora had one and that dark side was Libitina. You all have one, and so do your friends. That dark side knows very useful information they can easily use against you. Can predict your next move before you make it, know your strengths-"

"As well as your weaknesses." Layla finished once she saw Alaric's point on where he was going with this.

"Bingo," He winked, and then his amused expression sobered up to a more serious one. "A very simple yet clever move. Your friends will be delivered their ultimate death and Libitina won't even have to lift a finger for their downfall."

"That bitch!" Layla growled, causing Flora to nearly jump by the intense anger and hatred heard in her voice.

"We have to help them." Bloom said.

"We also have to get out of here first." Helia pointed out.

"Do you think we can open another portal?" Flora asked.

"Not here. The only reason why that spell worked was because it was a visual portal, being an hourglass and showing what was going on." Alaric answered.

"Then that means we need to go back all the way from the way we came from in the first place," Layla smacked the heel of her hand against her forehead, groaning at the thought of the lava oceans they swam, the horrible trip they took through hell, and those freakish sensations they were feeling as they went through those portals. "That one trip took us a whole day to go through. We don't have that much time on our hands."

"I don't think we have much a choice, Layla." Helia said.

"Its true going the way we came from would take us a very long time to get to your friends in Magix. Unless…" Alaric thought out loud, unaware he was saying his thoughts out loud.

The others exchanged looks with each other. Helia then turned around and was the one to ask "Unless what?"

"My father told me of a powerful spell he used to get him out of here," Alaric said. "It's a portal more quickly than anyone any of you had been through and we'll be in Magix in a moment of seconds."

"Aright, then do it." Bloom said.

Before he could begin, Alaric first instructed them to step back and give him some room, commenting he was not going to be blame or take any responsibility if something went wrong. Once they obeyed his request, he closed his eyes and his face melted down to a calming blank. His body from head to toe were radiating in bright onyx and pale blue energy dancing around his body. Moving his body and gesturing his hands in a series of fluid, graceful movements, which seemed to almost a mix cross between yoga and martial arts practice moves, and then finally threw his hands over his head and took in a deep breath, focusing all the energy flowing inside of him into one spell as he pronounced the enchantment in foreign tongue language. "Elv ceta congulata. Elv congle vetala. Cov veta rex!"

Beams of bright sapphire and onyx black energy shoot from his hands, hitting the ceiling over their hands. The energy beams erased the ceiling completely, using the wide open space to create a wide portal, which had the appearances of the heart of a tornado and blowing strong, wickedly hot air.

In a huff, Alaric was down on his knees, panting hard, and the smoke, along with the strong whiff of it, streaming from his body. Beads of sweat were dripping from his forehead, he looked more tired and like he was quickly running out of energy. Flora quickly went over to help him, kneeling in front of him and wiping the sweat of his forehead with a piece of cloth she ripped from her dress.

"Are you okay?" she asked, genuinely corcerned. It was clear she was still unaware of the pleasant moments Alaric had caused for her in the past and those memoires have yet to return to her.

"I am now. Thanks to the charming nurse tending my wounds." Although she was still wiping off the sweat from his face, a fainted red blush colored her cheeks and a soft, small smile was on her lips. He returned her shy smile with a charming one of his own.

Behind them, Helia was trying to tame the waves of jealously washing over him. She still hasn't remembered everything yet, and Alaric, being the pro of womanizing and a huge flirt, was using that as some sort of advantage for his own gain. Watching Flora and Alaric smile at each other made him more than just uncomfortable. He took in a deep breath before he started to do anything, and then, when he was sure he was calm enough, he went over to help Alaric get back on his feet. "You okay?"

"Depends on how you define okay?" Alaric said, his movements a bit more wobbly than usual. "If one definition is feeling like you had all the energy sucked out from you and left feeling extremely light-headed, then that's how I feel. Now I understand why my father said that spell is extremely powerful. It nearly too everything I had to conjure that portal."

"But are you sure this can take us to Magix?" Bloom said.

"Do birds have feathers?" he commented, pretty much answering the question.

"Then, let's go!" Layla joined her hands with Bloom and Helia, and Flora, who was sandwiched between the two young men, grabbed their hands. They all squatted down, preparing to jump in together.

A massive explosion erupted from behind, destroying the whole back and middle part of the church into tiny bits, the powerful force and energy waves from the explosion broke their people chain and knocking them right out the church, scattering them all over the landscape.

One by one, they slowly with extreme difficultly from the burning pain got up on their feet, and then gasped in unison.

Walking toward them with the same suave, cocky strut in Alaric's walk and looking like soldiers prepared for battle, were the same angelic yet demonic statues guarding the double, stone doors to this place. Only now, instead of being frozen like statues, they were alive and moving. They were taller than they looked before, now tall enough to tower over them all with a height of thirteen feet, their faces hard as stone, the vicious recklessness of a wild beast burning in their vivid eyes, and their weapons-swords and shields-were ablaze.

"Great!" Layla snapped. "Just perfect. As if we didn't already have enough problems already."

"We also have another problem then. The portal may be powerful, but it doesn't least long. If we're not through there in the next five minutes, then we can kiss going back goodbye." Alaric said.

"We can make it." Bloom was confident of that. She tried to convince her disbelief friends the same thing, and then turned her attention back to the statues still watching them with those untamed, wild eyes. "Who are you?"

"And what do you want?" Helia was quick to add.

The beautiful yet terrifying statues only looked at them for what felt like nearly forever. Till one nodded to the other, turned back to them, and spoke. His voice was soft yet extremely firm, the kind of voice noted right away for being powerful, wise with many centuries of knowledge. "I am Xavier and the one next to me is Luther. We are guardians to the place of None."

"And we have been guarding this place with our lives for over two hundred and seventy five million years. We protected it well from any ghouls and more importantly intruders." Luther said.

"Unfortunately, a demonic warlock disguised as a wise monk came here one day and spelled us. Molting out bodies into marble stone statues and we've been like that for more than thousands of years."

"Recently we were free from the spell, given life, and stronger powers by a powerful magical being, whose powers were nearly limitedness. She calls herself the dark queen and we are very thankful to her,"

"For bringing us, she is now known to us as mother,"

"And to show our gratitude, we must do a request she asked of us,"

"And that request was for us to stop you from leaving by any needs necessary."

The two brothers noticed the shock stunning the strangers' eyes and the color of their faces slowly becoming pale.

"Usually we don't tolerate violence," Xavier started.

"But we will have to make an expectation this one time for mother's sake." Luther finished his brother's sentence.

"I never thought I would ever hate momma's boys till now." Bloom mumbled. Each step the statues would take forward to them, Bloom and her companions would cower away."

"And who exactly is this dark queen you two are talking about?" Although he already had a really good guess who it could be, Alaric still felt there was a need to ask.

The statue known as Luther flickered his hand to the right and a lone shadow crawled from underneath their feet, sliding in front of them and taking on the form of a young woman dressed in an all black outfit.

Bloom and Layla gasped, Alaric kept his expression cool and was as steady as a rock but his teeth were tightly gritted, and Helia held Flora tightly in his arms, scowling.

The she-devil herself brushed loose locks of her golden-brown hair away from her eyes, her infamous, cruel smile spreading across her face once she saw she had their full attention. "Hello insects. Missed me?"

"Libitina!" Bloom exclaimed as Layla said at the same time "You bitch!"

Ignoring the fairies while reminding herself to deal with her _former_ lovers later, the dark angel focused her attention on the girl hiding behind Julio. "So you're still alive after all? I would have almost never believed, till I felt that urge in my body once the spell was completed and I was freed. Disappointing though. I was actually looking forward to you being trapped inside me, seeing that's only fair since I was trapped inside you for the past eighteen years. But no matter. It's nothing too hard I can't change."

Helia was quick to bring out his sword and pressed the sharp tip against her throat, slicing a piece of skin and seeing a drop of blood rolling down. "You take one step forward; I will kill you right where you stand."

"A little boy with a new, sharp toy. How amusing?" The amusement glinted in her eyes as she shooed the tip away. "It's a good thing I am not really there; otherwise you would have never been so bold to pull a stunt like that with me. You and I both know, Julio, you wouldn't dream of hurting me."

"And what makes you so sure I won't?" Helia demanded. "Don't forget I killed you before, Rosalina, and will do it again if I have to."

"You still love," She giggled as she caught the surprise look in his eyes, her smile growing sweeter and darker with every step she was taking forward to him. "Your heart still longs for me, even though you hate it to. You still care about me when you don't want to."

Helia raised his sword to strike her then but before the sword could be raised, Libitina swat it away with her hand, sending it skidding across the other side. She then smiled sweetly as she slowly wrapped her arms around Helia and rested her head on his chest.

This may have been an embrace he, so, desperately wanted before, but that was in the past and it was something he didn't want anymore.

"I'm going to tell you a very interesting secret," she whispered. "I may enjoy playing with both of you, but you were always the one I was after. We can still get back what we once had, Julio. Isn't that wanted in the first place? Isn't that the whole reason why you put up being reincarnated again? To be with the girl whom you killed but loved ever so much?"

Similarities between this moment now and what he experienced back in Hell was so exact, it was shocking to him.

Frowning, he watched her as she cuddled up against him and allowed himself to stroke her hair only once before bringing down his hand. "Expect we can't."

Surprised by his words, Libitina pulled back, fixing her face to a cool expression. "And why not?"

"I feel absolutely nothing for you anymore," He scowled. He was almost shocked like she was by his words, but he didn't regret saying them since they were the honest true. "I _hate_ you now."

The next thing Helia, Libitina pressed her hands delicately against his chest and he was hurled across the place, landing a few feet away from everyone and was sprawled on his stomach, his face slamming hard against the ground.

"Helia!" his friends exclaimed.

"You hate me now, huh? Feel absolutely nothing for me, huh?" Libitina smirked, watching him struggling and feeling his joyous pain. "That's rich. You always commented on my flawless acting skills, but you always seem unaware of the talent you have in acting, too."

"Damn…you-demon!" Helia murmured miserably as he got onto his feet, wobbling a bit.

"Hatred is the beginning of a love story, dear Julio. Not the end of one. You of all people should already be aware of that." As she whipped her hand to the right and rose up, balling it into a tight fist, a powerful force smacked Helia across the face and punched him upward to the chin. Satisfied with his pain, she decided she was getting bored and it was time to move things along.

Turning her back to the insects, she turned to her statue sons, who were waiting on her command, she ordered "I've through with these dolls. They're worthless as they are useless, and I seek no desire to keep them around. Destroy them. All except for her," she turned around to stare and point at Flora, smiling at the traumatized fear shown in the girl's eyes. "Instead of destroying her, capture her and bring her back to me. I have plans for that one, big plans."

With a snap of her fingers, she was gone. The statues withdrew their swords, spears, and shields.

"I don't suppose anyone has a death wish they want to make now?" Bloom was trying to make a little humor, but saw what little effect it did to seize the horrible moments. She gulped nervously.

"We already wasted two valuable minutes with that nonsense," Alaric said. "If we aren't through that portal in the next three minutes, then we're going to be stuck here forever."

"We're going to fight them." Layla said.

"I'm afraid you're going to find that most difficult." Xavier and Luther raised their flaming swords over their heads before stabbing them deep into the ground. Flames were shot up from cracks the swords ceased onto the ground and were traveling lightening fast toward the others, hitting them hard.

Helia told the others to get up and take their fight, quickly grabbing his sword and calling out orders like a leader. "Bloom, Layla, you two handle Luther while Alaric and I deal with Xavier. Flora, you go to someplace safe."

He didn't need to ask twice. Flora was already bolting from the scene, running as fast as her legs could go.

Only the brothers weren't going to let their prey get away from them so easily. While Xavier distracted the others' attention with energy blasts he fired at them from his hands, Luther shot a ghostly beam at Flora.

The flower fairy slowed her pace as the beam hit her from behind, barely able to cry out in pain as she was suddenly down on her knees with her head hanging low. The beam hit her back good and spread around her body, tightening into a second skin and molten into some sort of greenish-white shield. Inside the shield, Flora was almost like a frail animal trapped inside a cage, seeming so small and looking weak like the shield was sucking energy away from her.

"A flower can't survive long without light." Xavier smiled darkly.

"Leave her alone!" Helia tried to get a swing at him, but the brother caught his wrist before the fist could make contact with his face. He twisted his wrist halfway, not completely breaking it but causing extreme pain to fire up inside, raised the young hero over his head, and threw his aside like he was tossing aside a rag doll.

"As mother's sons, we must follow orders," Luther started.

"So we must destroy you." Xavier finished.

"Do you think we might be able to transform?" Layla whispered to Bloom as Luther was getting closer to them.

"We're going to have to try." Bloom whispered.

"Let's go Enchantix!" It took strong determination through difficulty and trying with all their might to transform. They were suited up for the battle and wasted no time getting into action

"Tongue of fire!" Bloom inhaled deeply and opened her mouth wide to release streams of fire exploding inside. Luther raised his shield in front of him to protect him from the attack, but the fire was pounding hard against his shield, refusing to back down.

"Tidal whirlwind!" While Bloom was distracting him with her fire spells, Layla was able to get a clear shot of him with her own magic.

Meanwhile, things were looking like a showdown between Alaric and Helia versus Xavier. The two were catching around the brother, communicating silently through their eyes and trying to figure out the best move on how to beat him.

"How's this for a plan?" Alaric mouthed to Helia, so Xavier couldn't understand what they were saying to each other. "You go save flower girl while I handle momma's boy."

Helia nodded, and then took off running.

"Halt insect!" Xavier commanded, and then turned around when he felt a hand tightly clasped on his shoulder.

"I wouldn't worry too much about him, big boy. I'll be the only one you'll be dancing with." Alaric smiled pleasantly, the smile slowly transforming as well as his facial features, morphing into something other than a man. Veins were popping out and clearly visible underneath the skin, his body grew taller and buffed up to something stronger his shirt and jacket were torn to shards, and his black eyes glowed with a monstrous glint, looking more like a demon.

"Hang on, Flora!" Helia cried to her and panicked, not only from not getting a respond, but watching the light in his beloved's eyes was slowly dying out.

He raised his sword and swung it against the beam shield, gritting his teeth and his hands suddenly staining as powerful shocks were bouncing off the shield and being transmitted into him, shocking him as well. The pain was unbearable, but he refused to give up. He still swung his sword against the shield, each swing harder with more force behind it than the last, refusing to give up and let Flora continue to suffer.

Finally with one last swing, cracks began ceasing along the shield and finally it cracked into millions and millions of pieces, breaking like glass.

Flora was freed and he was quick to catch her before she would fall to the ground. He stroke her hair soothingly as she took in wild gulps of much-needed air, then held her tightly in her arms when she calmed herself down and cuddled against him.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I am now, thanks to you." Flora smiled.

"Hey lovebirds!" They broke their embrace at the sound of Alaric's voice.

Even channeling his demonic energy, it wasn't enough in the end. As unbelievable as it was, for the first in history, _someone else_ was beating Alaric in a fight and was the one with a much better chance and advantage of winning.

"I could use a little help over here!" He dodged the blow Xavier tried to make between his face and his fist. "This dance seems like it's going to need several more dancers."

Annoyed with the blonde one and wanting this nonsense to end immediately, Xavier followed the steps his older brother done to deal with the blue-haired one. He grabbed Alaric wrist as he was trying to take a blow to his face, lifted him up over his head but by grabbing him by his face, actually smiled as he watched Alaric struggling to break free from his grasp, and tossed him aside like a rag doll, knocking him into Bloom and Layla and watching them go down like bowling pins. "I had enough of these nuisances."

"As have I, dear brother," Luther said. "Let us end this."

"Yes, let's."

The brothers walked forward to each other, facing one another, raised their flaming swords over their heads, and letting out horrible shrieks loud enough to scatter an eardrum and make ears bleed, but also had a powerful melody behind it impossible _not_ to listen to and was hard to concentrate on anything else expect blacking out. The energy of the fire oozing from their swords, dripping onto the ground, quickly spread around the entire landscape, combined with the energy from the horrific shrieks. The shrieks and fire energy created possibly the greatest earthquake in history, crumbling the Church down to the ground and ceasing cracks along the ground.

"Don't separate!" Alaric ordered as they huddled together.

The cracks of the earthquake slashed across every inch of the ground, and then the cracks widened into huge gaps fifty feet away from each other, revealing the wide ocean of searing hot, bubbling lava hundreds of feet below.

A huge crack slashed between Flora and her friends, widening into a wide gap that separated her from her friends, isolating her. The area of the ground surrounding her was crumbling into tiny pebbles and bits of dust. There was nothing left around to support her. Flora tried to balance herself with lack of space, but her left foot slipped and she fell.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" she screamed as she was falling fast toward the lava.

"No!" Layla and Bloom screamed.

"Flora!" Alaric tried to hold Helia back from doing anything stupid and reckless, saying he could die as well. But Helia didn't care; life with no Flora was death already. He freed himself from Alaric's grasp and flung himself off the ground, plunging himself toward the lava.

He quickly grabbed hold of her, the two of falling up-side-down to their possible death and holding each other tightly, as if their lives depended on the closeness of their bodies. "Can you fly, Flora?"

"I can't!" She screamed.

"Yes, you can. You still have your powers; you can still use them, and still fly. All you have to do is try."

"I can't."

The air they were cutting through was slowly going from lukewarm to musky, stuffy and stiff hot. He could already feel the unbelievable temperature of the heat nearly melting his skin off.

"You can do it, Flora!" he exclaimed. "Believe in yourself."

Although she was still unsure of her ability, she was willing to try. Flora closed her eyes and concentrated hard. She thought about the girl people claimed she once was, the girl from her dreams and flashbacks. The girl who seemed to have an enjoyable life although there were a few ups and downs in the way, the girl who had loyal family and friends, was the fairy of Nature and control all of Earth, and shared a special love with the same man whose arms were wrapped around her and holding her close.

_I can do this, I can do this, I can do this_, Flora repeated as she felt something within her growing stronger the longer she was concentrating. It was energy burning like fire inside her heart, but was calming and warm like the trees blowing by the gentle, crisp wind in the autumn morning.

_She was transformed into a world of color, where everything was so beautiful, including the plaster of the brightest and lightest blue splashed in the background. It was almost like a dance and she knew every step and position of it. She twirled her hair and jumped back, curving her body back into a C, before crossing her fingers over her head. A blue-white flash showered over her, filling her body with such energy, as a flower chocker formed around her neck and a pink dress was formed around her body, the hem of the dress coming close to her thighs. Her discarded sleeves were wrapped around her arms, going up past her elbows and pink ankle boots, created from hundreds of flowers, were slipped on her feet. _

_Finally she twirled her body into a slow circle, flying high with a trail of petals streaming behind her before finally landing on her feet, and lifting one arm over her head while the other was outstretched, reaching out, with the background switching to leaf green with thousands of green-yellow petal flowers encircling around her before bursting into a gigantic sharp of a flower. _

Flora's handmade dress was gone in the instant flash. Instead she was back in her Winx form, the first fairy form instead of Enchantix, dressed in a fairy dress primarily fuchsia and orchid in color, and consists of a sparkling one piece, bare shouldered top that conceals a pair of mini shorts of the same color, and ankle-high boots also the same color. A small orchid colored and shaped choker adorned her neck, while detached sleeves of the same color compliment her arms. Her wings were delicate as an angel's and colored lime green.

Her wings were fluttering hard when their heads were a moment away from being dipped into the lava, and she was using her concentration to help steady them.

Fluttering them hard, gradually she was lifting them up and turning them down-side-up. As she was getting used to the sensation of flying and feeling so light, she was going higher and faster.

Finally she got them out from there and landed them gently on the ground. Even though they were safety standing on solid ground, her arms were still wrapped around his torso in a tight grip and she didn't transform. She wouldn't even if she wanted to and could. The thrill of what happened to her still possessed her, kicking adrenaline high in her veins.

"Alright Flora!" Layla exclaimed.

"Way a go!" Bloom cried out.

"Well done." Alaric regarded with a nod of his head.

"I knew you could it." Helia said, hugging her.

Flora blushed as she smiled as he pulled away from the embrace, but still held her tight. Shyness over came by the closeness between them and the intensity burning in his eyes the longer his eyes were settled on her as he brushed back hair away from her eyes, letting his hand lingering on her cheek and caressing her cheek as his hand was lowered.

"Hey lovebirds!" Once again, the sound of Alaric's voice broke them apart. When he saw cracks slashing onto the ground where he was standing, he wasn't planning to take chances and quickly got out. He quickly transformed into his true demon, bat-like form, waiting till Bloom and Layla climbed onboard his back before taking off. He felt toward the recently embracing couple and pointed at the portal, which was their way back home, quickly getting smaller and smaller. "The portal is closing. We only have twenty seconds to get out of here."

Quickly Flora grabbed Helia again, fluttered her wings, and followed Alaric's lead. But soon they were stopping and dodging the multiple energy blasts fired at them, close to hitting them.

Flora glanced down and saw Luther and Xavier were firing blasts from their spears. She frowned, having just about enough of them. "Vine wrap."

Green energy oozed from her palm, spilling onto the ground like soft rain and sinking deep into there, vanishing from sight. Cracks were slashed around their area and luxurious ivy vines sprouted from the cracks, wrapping around the brothers' bodies.

Flora and Alaric zoomed with all the energy in their bodies toward the portal, reaching and getting through just in the nick of time with only a mere second to spare before the portal was closed shut.

Meanwhile at Magic, the fight between good versus evil, psycho against non-psycho, was still going on and taking a heavy toll. The remaining Winx girls, the RF boys, and the Guardians fairies were slowly getting exhausted from all the fighting they've been doing. The shadow creatures and psycho clones were getting stronger with each attack they were firing at them, using that new strength against them, and Libitina up on her high throne and enjoying the fight like a grand show.

Timmy screamed in pain as he took a powerful blow to the back of his head, an unexpected sneak punch delivered hard by his dark clone, and was slammed hard against the boulder, increasing the pain exploding in his head, and sank down to the ground.

"Timmy!" Tecna quickly rushed over to help her boyfriend. She got him up from the ground, wrapped one of his arms around her, and supported him as they fled from the scene, ignoring the chilled laughter howling from their doubles behind them. Tecna took him back to the same spot they all ran to for safety, seeing all their friends were there hiding out, and gently laid Timmy on the ground, using her remaining fairy dust to heal him. "I only so much fairy dust left."

"Lucky you," Stella said. "I ran out."

"Me too." Musa admitted.

"We still have to keep fighting, guys. We can't give up, we can't back down." Sky said.

"No offense, Sky," Brandon said. "But the whole prep-talk thing is starting to get unnecessary as well as annoying. We're getting our butts kicked hard, as plain and simple as that."

"I hate to admit, but Brandon's right, Sky." Nabu said.

"Yeah," Roxy nodded and winced at the pain exploding in her stomach, stinging brutally in her gut, which was the exact pain psycho Roxy kicked her hard with her high-heeled shoe. "I don't know how much more I can take of it."

"Dark Timmy punched, hit, and kicked me so many times in the head; I'm amazed my skull isn't being cracked to bits right now." Timmy said. "Though it may have already did, and I wasn't aware of it."

"They have to have a weakness. Everything allows feature a weakness." Tecna said.

"Even if they do, then they're real good at hiding it," Brandon said. "Psycho Brandon whipped my butt good."

"Dark Stella knocked me hard to the ground, thrown me through things, and blasted me hard with my own magic without trying that hard." Stella frowned. 

"Tell me about it," Musa frowned, too. "Dark Musa didn't even break a sweat whipping my ass."

Timmy hung his head down in shame while Tecna was thinking hard to come up with a plan. Suddenly, an idea struck him, lighting up like a light bulb switched on, and a grin spread across his head. Tecna, seeing the sudden change of expression of her boyfriend' face, turned to him in confusion, till they had a silent conversation through their eyes and she was grinning herself, also starting to get it.

"That's it!" the brainic couple exclaimed. 

"What's it?" The rest of them asked.

"The reason why we can beat the psycho is simple," Timmy said. "They're the other half of us, the other side of us that knows everything about us. The moves we do, the moves we're going to make. There's no way I can beat psycho Timmy, there's not way Musa can beat her twin, and there's no way Riven can beat psycho Riven."

Riven stared at his friend dumbstruck and considering him coldly, wondering if he was even aware of the things he was saying. "I thought you had good news, point-dexter."

"What he means is we can't beat them because they're _us_," Tecna stepped in to clarify. "But we can't beat ourselves, then we can beat each other."

Slowly, small smug smiles were lifting the corner of each other fairy and hero's lips as realization hit them.

Libitina wished this great show could on forever and ever, but knew like all other good things in life something great and good always came to an end at some point. And the time for this show to be over was now. Watching them get the hell kicked out of their asses was more blissful than anything else she was ever given, but knew the sooner they were destroyed, the sooner their souls would be hers for the taking. The strong, powerful she felt when she absorbed the souls of her former friends into was the same energy pulsing strong in their descendants. She could feel that identical energy pulsing strongly in them, and knew they would make excellent additions to her powers. "Psychos!"

"Yes my dark queen." The boys bowed low while the girls curtsied, acting like true gentlemen and ladies.

"I want you to finish the job," she ordered, her sweetly sick smile darkening her face and making her look like the true she-devil she was. "Destroy the nuisances."

It wasn't look before the Winx girls and the boys were being surrounded, each psycho facing their twin with a dark smile on their face, with both sides ready to finish this fight once and for all.

"Are you ready for death losers?" Dark Riven smirked, cracking his knuckles to warm up his fists before they do a hot dance number on his twin's face. Riven responded to that smirk with one of his own.

"Ready guys?" Sky asked.

They nodded, ready to take their cue and position.

"Switch!" they all cried, taking on another's psycho.

The psycho and Libitina weren't prepared for that sort of move and were caught off guard. Before Dark Sky could process what was going on, he was tackled hard to the ground by Riven, who wasted no time getting a few punches to his face while Sky pounced on Riven's double. Brandon took on Nabu's double, Nabu took Timmy's, and Timmy settled with being Brandon's. For the girls, they wanted to be real careful with their matches, not wanting to get the psycho whose powers were close to theirs. As a result, Stella took on psycho Tecna and burning the girl bit by bit with her sun powers; Musa was laying on phat beats as she took down psycho Roxy who didn't stand a chance against her tunes; Tecna was wiping the floors with psycho Stella; and Roxy was beating psycho Musa good and hard with her animal attacks.

Finally the psychos were beaten, and they had won the battle. With one final blast or any other attack, they winced in pain, looked at their twin, and then their bodies would crumple into dust. The dust swarm back into the original twin, giving back the energy stolen from them and completing them.

"We did!" Brandon cheered.

"Guess the psychos wouldn't handle a taste of their own medicine." Sky smiled, setting out a round of laughter.

But the laughter was cut off short when an explosion of red and black energy exploded in front of them, electrifyingly shocking them like they were struck by lightening and knocking them hard onto the ground. When they finally got onto their feet, trying to ignore the pain burning their bodies and wincing they were doing with each movement, they saw Libitina descending from her throne, walking down like she was climbing down steps of stairs. She looked so amused a few moments ago, but now there was an angry scowl darkening her face and even deeper, hatred-filled anger blazing in her eyes.

"I ask for one little thing," she said, talking more to herself than them. "Ask them to destroy you. A simple task I can finish off in two seconds, but of course they can't even seem to do something as simple as that. Looks like I'm going to do the great honor of doing the job myself." Her infamous smile was splashed on her face when she looked at them. "Don't worry, insects. I'll make your death quick and simple; you'll barely feel a thing."

She did plan to control their shadows into snakes, commanding the serpent to entangle around their bodies and squeeze the life out of them. But seemed a bit long and she wanted their souls now, so she decided to go with plan B: creating the ultimate death strike ball, powerful enough to cause them such pain they'd be dead the moment the spell touched their skin.

"Say goodbye, insects, and also do me one last favor. Say hi to Luna and the others when you met them in hell." She smiled pleasantly, pointing the tip of her scepter toward their direction, laughing silently at the fear and panic showing in their eyes.

This was their fate, but they didn't regret how they spent their final moments here in this world. The gang did a silent pray, held onto one another tightly, and closed their eyes in anticipation for their cold deaths.

Libitina gathered all the energy in her body to produce the strongest spell, her staff actually burning and smoking from the massive heat and power building up inside of it. The moment she was a mere second away from erasing them from existence, a line was drawn in front of them and that line grown into a wide portal, blowing such strong wind into their faces. The wind was so strong, they all had to cover their eyes, and Libitina was knocked to the ground by the powerful force.

When she, along with the others, got up and opened their eyes, shock was the only thing everyone was feeling. The others' shock was surprise but happy, glad to see the guest crashing their small party, while Libitina's was angrier than happy, more disappointed and stunned.

The crashers to their little party was Enchantix Bloom and Layla smirking at the shock expression on Libitina's face, a shirtless Alaric showing off his toned chest and cocking his head to one side as he looked at her, Helia equipped with his laser glove placed on hand while the other was busy holding his sword, and Flora in her first fairy form but looking brave and standing tall while facing her twin.

"Hello Libitina." Alaric greeted pleasantly.

"I honestly can't believe you," she said to him. "After everything I done for you, you desert me for a couple of insects. All this time I thought you were better than that, but it turns out I was wrong." She shook her head and rolled her eyes, dusting off her clothes once she got up and grabbing her staff. "Thank good heavens I was smart enough to turn down your marriage proposal. It wasn't such a hard decision to make since you were becoming a huge bore as well as a great fool."

Helia and Flora watched Alaric's face crumble by her harsh words, then he caught himself when he saw eyes were watching him, making his crumble face harden to stone again.

He shrugged, saying "And truth be told, Libitina, it wasn't so hard to leave you and help them. Everything we did have was wonderful, but now…you seem more like damaged goods. Helping them and bringing back your reincarnation back was a real no-brainer."

Baring her teeth at him, Libitina acknowledged the rest of them with the burning hatred in her eyes and the flaring anger. She saved her heated yet chilled glance at Flora, who was still trying to stay calm despite the fearful chills she was getting from looking into those eyes. Those fearful chills increased more as a cutting, mocking smile was playing on Libitina's blooded lips.

"Isn't one grand reunion? The descendants of my former friends who are my prisoners inside my power," she considered the Winx gang coldly. "The man who loved me too much." She smiled coldly at Alaric staying firm, but was gritting his teeth in anger from the thoughts and memories he allowed her to make a fool of him. "The man who loved me too little." Her cold smile was erased from her face, turning into a irritated frown as she looked at Helia, who returned her cold look with one of his own, and then lastly turned to Flora and her frown turned into a amused smirk. "And last and least, my reincarnation, Flora. It's really funny. It seems like every time I try to be disposed of you, you always prove to be so…lucky."

"It's over, Libitina." Helia said.

"Accept your fate and stand down." Alaric added.

Her amused smirk only grew more into a dark yet innocent smile she was easily able to fool anyone with. She clicked her tongue as she shook her head at their words. "Tempting offer, but I think I'll pass. Besides I've waited and worked too long and hard for this moment to taken away by a bunch of irritating cockroach insects. If you want me gone so badly, then we shall settle this little game the same way I finished my old friends. A battle to the deaths. I lose; you keep your lives and get your wish. You lose; I got more souls to collect. A fair win-win."

They all nodded, accepting her challenge. Before they started, Libitina asked that Flora was not part of the game and stay aside.

"It's a real shame we have to end things like this." Bloom said.

"If memory serves me right, sweetie, then the only ones who were shamed were your descendants." Libitina smiled.

They wasted no time quickly getting into the fight. Libitina was quick and light on her feet, moving with the grace of a dancer as she dodged attacks and tried to get a few blows of her own. Besides being a powerful sorceress, she was also a great warrior who seemed to master in many forms of material arts and self-defense.

Still, the gang was proven they were just as skilled too with their magic and fighting moves. The girls came together into a circle and combined their powers into one powerful, convergence attack that Libitina wasn't able to dodge easily because of its' massive size and was hit hard by it, then was knocked hard to the ground, sent craning roughly through it by the clear shots the boys were able to get her with their blasters.

Alaric pounced on her, wrestling with his former love all over the ground and letting out all emotion as he fought her. While Libitina was on top of Alaric, straddling his hips and taking a few punches to his face, Helia took that as an opportunity to strike her then.

He ran toward them, his sword held high, and stabbed her in the back, dipping the sharp tip very deeply in there, smirking as he saw Libitina was slowly down when she felt the stab.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!" It was a scream of utter pain from the stab, a girl screaming from the deep stab. Rosalina flinched and bit her lip, thinning her lips as she closed her eyes while trying not to make a sound and blood was pooling around her severe wound. The only problem was she wasn't the one screaming; she couldn't be if her lips were tightly closed.

They all, with the expectation of Libitina, turned around and were beyond shocked seeing Flora falling to the ground, screaming in pain at the top of her lungs from the hole suddenly stabbed into her back with crimson blood gusting from the wound.

"Flora!" Musa and the others quickly ran to their fallen friend. The music fairy gently moved her friend; trying to act with caution of her bruise, and used the reminding fairy dust she had left in her vial to heal her. The wound may have been healed, but Flora was still motionless from remembrance of the pain.

"Are you okay?" Bloom asked.

"I don't know." She answered miserably.

"What the hell is going on?" Helia demanded, turning to Alaric. "I stabbed Rosalina, so why did it affect Flora too?"

Alaric pushed Libitina off of him and frowned at Helia as he got up, dusting off the dirt of his expensive suit. "I was afraid that this would happen."

"Afraid what would happen?" Sky said.

"Afraid that because Flora is my reincarnation, the other half of me, anything that would happen to me would happen to her too," Libitina said before Alaric could open his mouth to speak, being the center of their attention and smirking at their stunned faces as she got back up, her staff handy in her left hand. "And as you can clearly see, what he feared actually came true."

"What the hell have you done, Rosalina!" Helia demanded, just about ready to tear her eyes out from her sockets, but the then realization suddenly dawned on him as he reminded what happened between them when they saw Libitina back at None.

She commanded Luther and Xavier to destroy them, all expect for Flora. For her, she ordered she be captured and brought back for her, saying she had big plans for her. He was questioning her actions because it was clear she didn't like Flora at all, but now he understood why. If Flora was to be destroyed, then she would also be destroyed too.

Seeing the understanding in his eyes made the smirk on Libitina's face change into a pleasant, cold smile as her red eyes were howling with such laughter he could already hear the sickening sound echoing in his ears. "Do you really think beating me was going to be so easy and simple like before, Julio? I did my homework over the last centuries while I was dead and quickly learned from my past mistakes. Besides, I do recall I told you all this the first time I met all of you again when I held you prisoners. You all can stop this by simply killing Flora. Our souls have been spilt into two halves, but we still complete one another and are still together in a sense. If my reincarnation is destroyed, then I'll be destroyed as well. However by destroying me, then you destroy her, too."

"_You evil, manipulative, psycho bitch!_" Helia roared.

Libitina's only response to that was her signature sweetly innocent yet coldly dark smile. "But you see, Julio, this is only the beauty of it. You destroy me and take away everything I worked-_again_-then Flora will be destroyed, too. By taking away my power, you'll be taken away from a dear friend," she glanced at Flora's friends before turning back to Alaric and Helia. "And you two would have killed the girl whom you love."

Alaric nodded, acknowledging the problem, and set his cold eyes on Libitina's cruel, smug smile. In a heartbeat moment, in swirls of black and white, Libitina had her back pressed against Alaric, his arm wrapped tightly around her neck in choking position, and the sharp tip of his claw was a second away from slicing her neck.

"Alaric, don't!" Helia cried. He panicked as he turned back and saw Flora was now in the position as Rosalina. She was lying on her back and her hands were at her neck, the sounds coming out from her sounded nearly breathless in a sickening way and chilled him from the fact she was suffocating. He ran toward Alaric and tried to pull back his claw, release the grip he had on Rosalina, and talk some sense into it. "Don't do this."

"Why not?" Alaric demanded, his eyes still kept on Libitina and he tightened his grip around her neck when he saw she was trying to escape. "It's simple and easy to rip her throat out. Like A, B, C."

"Because this is Flora's life we're talking about!" Helia exploded, and then lowered his voice as he got closer to him. "If you care about Flora at all, or feel for her like I did you do, then you'll reconsider. I want to make Rosalina for everything she has done, but we can't risk us seeking revenge for Flora's life. It's not worth killing her just because we want to get back at Rosalina. You know it's not."

Alaric had to look for himself how she was pulling through, and the anger in his hatred-filled eyes deceased a bit as she watched her trying to breath through his suffocating grip. He then glanced down at the original twin he had in his actual grip, seeing she was still suffocating but there also a small, smug smile tugging on her lips. A smile daring him to do what he must, asking if he really hated her that much and wanted to destroy her so badly would he risk the life of an innocent one to do so.

He leaned down and slowly brushed his lips against her cheek, feeling the softness of her skin and remembering how once, which seemed almost like a century ago, tasting her skin made him drunk with desire. He gazed straight into those challenging yet breathtaking ruby reds, leaned closer to her as he caressed her cheek, and whispered in her ear "You are so lucky I seem to have a heart for Flora. If there was any other way to hurt you without the pain affecting her, my claw will reach right into your chest, rip out your black stone of a heart, and eat it whole right in front of you."

Libitina smiled sweetly before kneeing him in a private place, smiling at his pain and quickly escaped. "You've gone soft on me, Alaric. That doesn't seem like you at all."

"It doesn't matter, Rose," Helia said. "Because one way or another, you are going down."

"Oh I don't think so, dim-wit," she smirked. "Because the only ones who are going down are you!"

Twirling her staff over her head, she stretched out toward the heavenly skies and closed her eyes with that sick smile growing into mischievous, cold grin. Dark energy from the crimson skies were streaming down like heavy rain, sucking into the crescent of the raven of her staff, which was glowing the brightest yet darkest shades of red and black. The dark angel herself was glowing both darkly and brightly, seeming to be the only thing radiating brightness in the whole place, and they had to shield their eyes from the blinding brightness. All the energy, coming from the spirit of the Midnight Raven deep in Rosalina's soul and from the darkness her magic had touched, came together into her staff.

When she opened her eyes again, they were the brightest ever seen before and were twice as frightening than before as they now looked monstrous and showed nothing but pure evil of the devil. Eyes sure to belong to a demon.

"By the power of the great Midnight Raven, die!" she shrieked, no longer sounding like herself, taking on a voice that was a mixture of the Raven itself and of a monster. "Death Strike!"

Before a shield could be placed in front of them or conjured up, before a step could be taken back, a great energy burst the size of the Magix city and was more powerful than anything ever conjured up combusted, setting out the most powerful explosion in its' wake. Everything standing in the way of its' path was reduced to burnt crisps, bodies were slammed hard, blood was splattered.

Soon, everything went dead silent. Everything was so quiet, too quiet for Flora's comfort. Slowly she put down her hands, which were originally used to cover her from the explosion, and opened her eyes when she was sure the thick smoke hazing her vision from before was gone. The first thing she saw was blood, so much blood practically splattered everywhere, dripping on nearby buildings, splashes all over the ground, and was pooling around her motionless friends.

"Oh dear god!" Her hands immediately came to cover her mouth, her heart skipping several beats, and tears were streaming down her face as she looked at them. Their wounds looked like they were beyond simple repair now, they were motionless like dead, and looked so peaceful as they slept in their unconscious state. She ran over to Helia, acting gentle so she wouldn't cause him more pain, brought his head to her chest, and kissed it countless times as more and more tears were running down her face. "Helia, please. Please don't do this to me."

"Don't waste your pity tears, you pathetic girl," Flora looked up, her eyes filled with endless tears as well as unlimited rage and hatred, at Libitina, who was taking slow steps toward her and looking so proud of herself for what she accomplished. "They were born fools and they now die as fools."

"_How could you!_" Flora exploded.

Libitina smiled as she squatted down to Flora's level. "You should be thanking your lucky stars right now, puppet. If it wasn't for the fact you're actually worth something to me, I would have destroyed you long ago but the only problem is I would have destroyed myself in the process if I did so. No matter what the fool you cradled in your arms like an infant has told you, remember this. You are me and I you. I'm your creator, the puppeteer pulling your strings. You only existed and were born to serve me. What hope could a useless, worthless girl have against her own creator?"

With that being said, Libitina got on her feet and walked back to her throne. Flora was left alone with her seemingly lifeless dead friends and was stunned into shock by Libitina's cruel words, which were spinning around inside her head. Worthless. Useless. Those were the cruel words acting as sharp knives stabbing her heart, causing it to bleed out.

That…girl was the caused for all unhappiness that has happened in the past and present, knowing the destruction she caused and blood shed on her hands yet smile pleasantly at it, as if it was part of her favorite game. Everything to her was a game. She partly was the reason why her father was dead in the first place, the reason why she dreaded her birthday this year more than anything, why some many innocent lives were taken, and why everything became nothing but a tangle of past remembrance and pain. So much pain, if they were drops of tearful rains, then the whole universe would be flooded.

Anger, like no other anger or any other emotion, Flora has ever felt before was boiling like lava in an exploding volcano, building up inside of her and causing her to explode. She closed her eyes and welcomed the anger, which seemed so sweet yet was burning hot as fire.

_Yes!_ Flora thought as she felt all the power and energy burning up inside of her, magic flowing uncontrollably in her body, so much of it ready to burst out from her skin.

Libitina was whistling a happy, cheerful tune under her breath as she walked back to her throne, but suddenly she was knocked flat on her face when unexpected blow was slammed against the back of her head. Wincing in pain while tenderly rubbing her head, which was still recovering from the blow, and was stunned by what she was seeing.

Her reincarnation was glowing, an aura of the brightest yet darkest shade of green covering and twinkling around her body. She may have been glowing like a bright star, but the fire burning in her eyes she snapped open and bored her gaze into her showed nothing but true, pure hatred and anger. "You may have created me,"

An explosion of bright colors and lights of different shades of green and rose combusted, nearly blinding Libitina with its' brightness. When she was finally able to see again, she saw her reincarnation transformed herself into a fairy form that wasn't the same as the one she was in before. It wasn't the first fairy form, the Charmix power one, or even the Enchantix. Nevertheless was a fairy power stronger than any form, intensified and strengthen with much more power than the Enchantix.

Her whole body was still glowing brightly with that aura energy, but it wasn't as bright as before. Flora was now in a pink and fuchsia, petal-themed sleeveless, midriff-bearing top and a pink, petal-shaped skirt with a yellow string tying it in place and lime green frills underneath. Her wings were leaf-shaped and lined in emerald green with clover shapes lined in jade within, the background of the wings fading from hot pink on the bottom to orange in the middle to yellow on top with purple leaf "piercings" along the sides of the wing. There were purple and pink flower-themed wristbands on her wrists and she wore below-the-knee pink, fuchsia, and white platform high-heeled boots on her feet. Her hair was now in a pair of buns sporting turquoise blue bows atop her head, while the rest of her hair was flowing down her back, with peach highlights. Red and purple flowers decorated her hair, making it look even more natural and beautiful, her lips were painted bright yet soft rose pink, and pink eye shadow on her eyelids.

She looked beautiful. Strong and powerful. But most of all, she looked and was more than ready to finally put an end to this nightmare once and for all.

"But get this through your head, Libitina. Once and for all, I am absolutely _nothing_ like you!" She raised her hands over her head, then brought them down in front of her, releasing a combination energy blast of the power of Nature and of the Midnight Raven that hit Libitina hard, knocking her right back down to the ground.

Blood was trickling down her face as she slowly got back on her feet, and she saw blood was also dripping on Flora's face as well. Only Flora wasn't showing anything to let there be known she was in pain; instead she was conjuring another energy blast she aimed at Libitina. Only this time Libitina was able to dodge it, taking a double flip back to avoid the blast and frowned unpleasantly, un-amused at her Doppler-ganger.

"Do you really want to play that game, little girl?" She smirked. "Because this is one game you don't stand a chance of winning. You know perfectly well whatever you do to me, you'll only be hurting yourself."

"I don't care. One way or another, even if it kills me, I will end you." Flora said, not making a threat, but a cold, solid promise. And she always kept her promises, not matter what the cost.

"As you wish then." Libitina smirked, before transforming herself into her witch form: a red petal-themed sleeveless, midriff-bearing top, black petal-shaped skirt with a red string tying in its' place and red frills underneath, black and red beaded wristbands wore on her wrists and black leather platform ankle-length boots. Her hair was free and flowing down but took on a darker shade of brown and sporting red highlights with a pair of buns tied with black bows on top of her head. Her eye makeup was done in a smoky style, giving her red eyes more edge, with black mascara and eye shadow caked around them, and her lips painted in a glossy rose red color.

It was ironic under the conditional circumstances; they were dressed in almost the exact same outfit and would have been exactly alike if it wasn't for the color scheme. And the fact Flora's boots were knee length while Libitina's were ankle.

They walked around each other, one smirking while another kept her face cool but expression.

"Tell me this, Rosalina?" Flora asked. "Was it all worth in the end? Betraying and destroying your friends, destroying the realms and your own home, causing so much misery. Was it really worth it all for the power?"

"I'm going to tell you something very interesting," Rosalina answered, darkly smiling. "When it comes to power, Flora, one must do what they must to get it. Sacrifices must be made and blood must be shed in order for one to rise to power, no matter what the consequences may be."

Flora nearly flinched. Those were the exact same words Alaric said a long time ago when she first him. Hearing Rosalina, a girl who used to be so kind and good, say them with such brutality and coldly evil nearly made her heart sink to the pit of her stomach.

"You're pathetic," She murmured quietly, yet the words seemed loud enough to echo throughout the deserted city. The scowl and dark glare on Libitina's told her if she valued her life, then she would stop talking but Flora wasn't afraid of her. Not anymore and never will she be again. She continued, saying "You are nothing but a pathetic, selfish girl who only feels good about herself when another's in pain. Who smiles and can actually turn the other cheek at the destruction she caused, never looking back and regretting any of it."

"Enough small talk, puppet. Only fighting inside." Libitina soared up to the sky after sprouting her raven wings, and Flora followed after her while unleashing some nature power.

As the fight continued in the sky with energy blasting, spell-conjuring, fists flying and legs kicking, with the occasional dodging and shielding, down below where the friends laid one of them was slowly breaking free of his unconscious trance. With a groan, Helia slowly fluttered his eyes before fully opening them, soon wincing as the intense pain was setting in and burning every inch of his well being in his body. It hurt to stay conscious, it hurt to take in breaths, and trying to sit up was more difficult than he thought it would be but still forced himself to do so.

He slowly rubbed his head, realizing how hard that explosion might have really hit him, and took a quick glance at the sky. Then his eyes quickly went back to the sky when he saw what was going on. "Flora, Rose! Stop!"

Libitina rushed forward to Flora, ready to kick her hard by the side. While her foot was still in mid-air, Flora was zooming away and was soon dodging the multiple dark shadow blasts Libitina were firing at her. As she flew, Flora turned back to hit Libitina with a few Venus blasts, but the dark witch protected herself with a barrier, absorbing the blasts.

As Libitina put her barrier down, Flora took that as the time to strike her then. She raced toward her twin and punched her hard in the face, the force of the punch knocking right through a building behind them and sent her craning through the carpet-covered floors. While Libitina was trying to ignore her pain and get back up, Flora wasted no time firing more Venus blasts that hit her hard and some others she managed to dodge. Quickly the dark queen summoned energy into the palms of her hands, holding them in front of her and releasing a powerful stream of searing hot, red energy that knocked Flora through the wall of the building and was slammed hard against the wall.

She could already feel searing pain burning up in her body, threatening to die down her energy and force her to withdrawal from the battle. That was exactly what Libitina wanted from her, but she refused to let her have the satisfaction. Libitina was coming through the huge gap she created in the wall, ready to strike her again, but Flora was prepared to take her down again.

Quickly getting up on her feet, Flora unleashed multiple Venus and pollen blasts from her hands, along with multiple vine wraps and poisonous thrones she commanded to hit Libitina. She lost how much attacks she flung at the queen, but knew the number was past a hundred and was causing smoke to haze her vision.

When she was exhausted and nearly drained, Flora stopped for a moment to catch her breath and regenerate her powers. When the smoke finally cleared, she was stunned to see Libitina seeing in front of her with not a scratch on her.

"The spirit of Midnight Raven protects. Because of its' power, I'm invincible." Rosalina unleashed a flaming death strike, twice its' normal size, at Flora, who was slammed hard yet again against the wall and then was crashed hard on the ground. She managed to dodge the objects Libitina tried to hit her with telekinesis power and tried to get Libitina back for that move, but then Libitina grabbed one of pillars supporting the floor they were and used it as a baseball bat to swing hard at Flora like she was the ball.

Pain, intense and brutal, exploded from the back of her head to her lower back as she hurled against the wall a third time and was crashed against the floor again. The pain was intense, as it was unforgiving, but she couldn't afford it to stop her and give up.

Behind her, Libitina was laughing while she walked closer to her. "Oh, dear little puppet. Don't you know the puppeteer always pulls the strings of their puppets?"

"Well, this puppet finally got her strings cut." Flora whirled her head toward her direction and fired beams of fiery red energy from her eyes, knocking hard to the ground and sending Libitina craning across the other side of the room. While she was recovering from the attack, Flora suddenly was flying down toward her and crashed them right the floor as she stomped on her chest hard with those high-heel boots of hers.

The two girls were wrestling in a rough-housing matter until they were crashed on the floor of the lower level and Libitina kicked Flora off of her. Grabbing the girl's wrist, Libitina flew up to the building, crashing right through the roof and spun Flora wildly around and around till the girl was sure she was going to be sick. With one last swing, she let go and flung Flora back to the spot where they left her friends, slamming her right through her throne and she landed a few feet away from them.

"Flora!" Helia cried out, but he got no response. He turned to his friends, whom he awakened shortly after he was up, and said "We have to do something."

"And what exactly can we do?" Alaric answered, a bitter tone heard in his voice. "In case you haven't noticed, we all practically paralyze from the waist down. The death strike may have luckily not been enough to eliminate us, but it caused more than enough pain to keep us immobile and unfortunately significantly drained most of our powers. I'm afraid Flora's on her own now, and let's just hope things will not end so badly."

Helia and the gang returned his gaze to the fight, seeing it was going from dangerous to deadly. Both girls were inflicted with harsh bruising and wounds, blood covering their clothes and caking some parts of the skin where very serve wounds were bleeding out.

Flora was down on her hands and knees, her head bent down in agony from all the pain killing her body. She dealt with the intense pain by biting hard on her bottom lip; biting so hard blood was filling in her mouth, and was trying to figure out the best way to end this with the remaining strength she had left within to fight.

Meanwhile, Libitina was gliding toward her, her feet never touching the ground as it was floating a feet above, with that cruel and inhuman smile lifting up the corners of her face. "That's right, pixie. Bow down before your grand queen and ruler."

Flora brought up her head to give Libitina the coldest, darkest glare in her eyes she ever given to anyone before. "You may be ruler of the universe, but you are not the ruler of me."

Libitina raised her hands over her head and spread them apart wide, the wide space becoming a massive energy, lightening-zapped, fire-burning ball she hurled toward Flora's way, which Flora was barely able to dodge without a burn on left side of her torso. "You are tired, puppet. Tired and in pain, I see. Why not you give up while you still have the chance?"

"Never!" Flora used her powers to sprout vines encircling around Libitina, but before they could fully grown and wrap around her body, she crushed them to pieces by the glow of her eyes.

"You surprise me, Flora," Libitina confessed. "You are so much like me yet so different. Why is it, when I was born again I didn't wish to continue finishing off what I started in the past?"

"Simple," Flora said. "Unlike you, I allowed myself to feel. I allowed my heart to be warm instead of a cold shell."

"I said there were _some_ differences between us," Libitina clarified. "That doesn't mean we aren't too much alike. For starters, Flora, when you're alone do you ever feel your powers could be better?"

Flora turned her head, refusing to answer such a question. Libitina was able to see the shock in her eyes before she turned her, seeing her question was answered, and then continued with more questioning. "Do you often feel like you seem to be the least powerful one in your team? That your powers don't seem to help you out in battles?"

The girl still didn't respond, but she did see a lone teardrop rolling down her left cheek that answered her question. Feeling a bit sympathy as memories reminded her of the similar position she once found herself in, Libitina went over to place a sympathy hand on the girl's shoulder and smiled gently as Flora turned her head to her. "I know how you feel because, whether you chose to believe me or not, I felt the exact same a long time ago. I loved my powers more than anything and cared for Nature itself like it was my child to nourish, but I hated the insecurity and bitterness that came along to possessing it. I hated how villains and opponents would always target me as the easy one to destroy because my powers couldn't work to stop them. I hated watching my friends able to fight off evil easily with their powers while mine could only trap them for a moment before they easily escaped."

Flora lowered her gaze when she remembered countless that had happened before. She would trap the villain in roots and vines wrapping around their bodies, but it wouldn't hold them long and they were able to break free while getting a clear shot to attack her. Usually it was a spell or attack from one of the girls that was able to really take them down.

Libitina titled her chin back up, so her gaze would hers. "I know how embarrassing and awful it feels, Flora. That's when Alaric told me about the power of the Midnight, I saw an opportunity and knew I had to take it. Was it hard choosing to pursue or not to becoming one with the ancient spirit of the power after being told of the consequences? Yes. Did I ever regret making the decision? No, I did not. Thanks to the decision I made, I became the most powerful being in history. I became invincible and no one dared to defy or challenge me. The same thing could happen to you, Flora. You can all the power you ever dreamt of having and more. Much more. Join me, Flora, and you can rule beside me. You'll become the powerful princess of darkness, invincible and strong no one will even dream of crossing your path."

"Join you?" Flora repeated in a murmur, unsure what to say or think of next.

Libitina still smiled softly as she took a step back and stretched out her hand, beckoning Flora to take it. "No more insecurity, no more doubt. Accept who you are, Flora, and join me. Become the angel of darkness and then new princess of evil. We would become an unstoppable force."

Something about the way Libitina was talking to her was warm and gentle, sounding almost exactly like herself when she was Rosalina. Join her in the side of evil and become the princess of evil? The offer seemed tempting at first, with the promise of limitedness power, and seemed like something anyone would jump at the chance to get. Only…

Flora was too engrossed by her memories, remembering how similar event took place in one girl's path and how she sealed her fate by choosing the path she was now offered. She sometimes did get tried herself for being beat easily because of her powers, but… if she chose to do it, then she would have proved Rosalina right. She would have proven she was exactly like her.

She pulled back her hand she hadn't realized was slowly pulling toward Rosalina's, looked at her face that showed a soft smile on her face but evil laughter howling in her eyes, and used that hand to smack her across the face and kicked her high to her chin, knocking her down a few feet away. Flora scowled as Libitina growled at her and could already feel more pain slamming inside her, but refused to let that stop her.

It was time to finally end this.

"You are going to regret you did that." Libitina growled, spitting out blood while some of it was caking her lips.

"I already regret a lot of them, Rosalina," Flora said, scowling and not letting the anger in her twin's eyes intimidate her. "But the thing I mostly regret is actually being born from your soul."

"Ho-hum," Libitina shrugged. "Like or not, you were born from my soul. Like or not, the past is the past and there's nothing you can do to change it."

Wordlessly, Flora put her hands behind her back and was carrying two items in both hands as she brought them in front of her. The items were a sharp dagger she held in her left hand and a small vial of black powdery, liquid in her right. Libitina raised her eyebrow in questioning at the trick Flora did while trying to figure out. But the longer she glared at the objects being held in Flora's hands, particularly the vial of black liquid, her suspicious eyes widened in shock and recognition.

"What is that stuff?" Bloom squinted her eyes to see what the liquid stuff was, but it was still impossible to make it out other than its' color.

Alaric, on the other hand, was having much better luck seeing the substance because of his fantastic eyesight that was clearer than a hawk's. He knew the substance was familiar, but he couldn't exactly place the name of it.

Helia squinted his eyes, whose eyes weren't on the same level as Alaric's but was much sharper his friends'. He was able to make out the familiar substance, but he couldn't identify it right away. But after staring at it for a full minute, remembrance rushed to his head and his heart stopped, missing over dozens of beats.

"Helia, correct me if I'm wrong, but that looks a lot like-" Alaric said.

"It is," It was now Alaric's turn to become speechless, caught dumbstruck and baffled while the others were still left out in the dark, wondering what they were talking about.

"You guys mind letting us in on what's making you so shocked?" Riven asked.

"What's that stuff Flora's holding?" Layla demanded.

"That stuff is Black abyss," Flora unscrewed the cap of the vial, placed the dagger in front of her with the tip pointing to her left, and poured more than half of the black stuff onto the metal, the powdery liquid falling heavily like rain and shimmering bright purplish-black as it landed on the knife. "The deadliest, venomous poison known all throughout the universe. One little drop and the person will already be dead before they hit the ground."

Libitina only glared at the girl with pure, fiery anger and hatred in her ice-chilled eyes, wishing nothing more than she find some way to bring her twin pain without it affecting her. If there were such a way, she would have already done it long ago.

"But that's not the reason why the poison seems to have a connection with you, Libitina. It's much deeper than that," Flora continued on. "If memory serves me right, then I seem to remember the connection. This poison and dagger are the same things Julio used to kill you."

"WHAT?" they all, with the expectation of Rosalina and Flora, exclaimed.

Helia glanced closer, this time looking closely at the hilt of the dagger. With a jolt of shock running through his body, he saw on the sliver hilt were the initials J.G on it.

J.G, standing for Julio Gabriel.

His initials! His dagger!

"I thought it was destroyed," Helia murmured while his friends were silenced into shock, his eyes glancing at Alaric. "I thought you destroyed it."

Alaric shrugged, his eyes unable to take themselves away from the dagger in Flora's hand. "As tempting as it was, I couldn't. When I came to the throne room and saw all of you were dead, Libitina was sprawled on top of you and the two of you were holding each other's hands tightly. Before I could come close to her, her body turned to dust, which then disappeared from sight. Her body disappeared with the dagger still thrust into her chest."

"Please tell me, in the name of God, she isn't doing what I think she's doing." Musa whispered urgently to Layla.

"Depends. Are you thinking the same thing I'm thinking?" When Musa nodded, panic grew in Layla, who tried to gulp down the huge lump in her throat but it did little to relief her terror. "Then let's pray she won't go through with it."

"We have to stop her." Bloom tried getting up on her feet, but before she could lift herself up and get her knees up she fell face-flat back on the ground.

"Our powers are completely drained, and we were badly affected by the power burst. We can't do anything to help her." Tecna mumbled miserably.

Libitina didn't move a muscle in her body, but the deep hatred in her eyes grew more and more the longer they settled on Flora's face. She shook her head slowly back and forth, folding her arms against her chest. "You wouldn't dare."

"I very much would." This time a darkly sweet, innocently cold smile spread across Flora's face. Taunting Libitina, acting completely unafraid and fearless.

"Then you are even more of a _fool_ than I thought," Libitina spat out the word coldly, her words deadly and dripping in venom. "You honestly don't get it, do you, silly girl? Whatever happens to me will happen to you. You will die as well if that poison touches me."

"I'm already aware of that," Flora acknowledged her words with a nod, her smile more taunting and vicious. "And if it will finally end you once and for all, then I'm all for it."

"Flora, don't do it!" Bloom protested.

"Don't be foolish!" Tecna exclaimed.

"NO!" Helia was so filled with shock, he was sure he was dreaming and what he was seeing wasn't real. She couldn't possibly think of doing something like that like she was.

"I have to," Flora said simply, as if those words were simple explanations to her possible action. "You were right when you said, whether I like it or not, there's nothing I can do to change what happened in the past. I may not be able to change the past, but I can do something to save the future."

"_You wouldn't dare!_" Libitina growled through her gritted teeth.

"For the good of all and to the end of the dark angel-once and for all!" Flora raised her dagger and then, without any hesitation or fear, plunged the cold knife into her heart. She barely had time to cry out from the pain, only softly gasping as her eyes widened in pain but then the light of life died down in them.


	30. Chapter 30

So, this is what death feels like?

There was pain, but it felt so far away like it was distant miles. As Flora slowly fell to the ground, she was slipping away into a dark, warm place.

Watching the dagger thrust right into her chest, plunging into her heart, the world all around him crashed and died into burnt, pitch-black darkness. He couldn't talk or breath, and couldn't even think right when the source to his happiness and practically his whole life was gone.

Libitina fell to the ground, too, screaming loudly at the top of her lungs as her body was shaking uncontrollably while her insides were quickly being eaten away by the poison. Her luxurious, caramel hair quickly faded to gray and fell out from her head; her face and body were aging fast with every second, her face revealing her real age and her body frail and small. A huge gap, the exact same place where Flora stabbed herself, was stabbed into her chest; blood splattering from the leak and over millions of souls was streaming out of her body, escaping into heaven above to have their much-needed-and-long-waited peace at all.

Finally, with her power died out and completely gone, not an ounce of energy left in her body exploded into dusts that vanished from sight. At long last, it was the end of Libitina and the end of the angel of darkness.

Flora's limp body was untouched, but suddenly flames of black magic were surrounding her, slowly being purified into pure white. The pure white magic became stronger as more of it spilled from her heart, releasing endless streams and waves of white magic.

The column of brightness gushed upward, fanning out, spreading rapidly over the dark sky, spreading not only to the Magix but to others and the rest of the realms. Lifting like a series of giant waves, curling and breaking at its peak, scattering and cascading from the horizon of each realm to realm, banishing all that was dark and evil, bathing the whole universe into its' fullest light and color. Fixing everything the black magic had touched, healed and mended the pain Libitina had caused, and cleansed the universe free from the sinful power.

The entire universe had been brought back to normal, all thanks to the ultimate sacrifice made by one, very brave girl.

Tears blinded Helia's vision and streamed down his face as he fell down on his knees and held Flora's lifeless body in his arms, laid her limp head on his shoulder, and cried silently while he rested his chin on her hair.

Their friends were gathered around them, trying hard not to cry but also failing miserably with their faces riven with tears and sadness filling their eyes.

Even Alaric, who was the only one who didn't shed a tear, hung his head down in sorrow so no one would see the sadness in his eyes.

"It's not fair!" Bloom angrily screamed through her tears. "It's not fair."

"None of this shouldn't have happened!" Musa sobbed.

Helia pulled back from Flora a bit to take a look at her. Besides the stab wound gapping in her chest and the blood spilling from their, the rest of her body looked fine and untouched. She looked so peaceful, as if she was taking a nap, with a small smile on her face. Somehow, even after she committed suicide, she managed to look like she was resting in peace.

None of this shouldn't have happened and it was completely unfair. There were still so many things in life Flora hasn't been able to do. She never got to graduate high school, never got the chance to become a guardian fairy and to protect her realm from evil, will never walk down the aisle of her wedding day and look beautiful in her dress, and will never have the chance of holding her newborn baby in her arms.

"I'm so sorry I failed you, my love. I'm sorry." He kissed her forehead, as more tears leaked from his eyes. He then glanced at the bloody dagger only lying a few feet away from him, the same weapon used to take the life of his true love.

Helia then ran forward to the dagger and raised it high over his head, ignoring the cries from his friends, wanting-needing more than anything else to be with love. But before sweet death could take him away, the dagger was slapped away from his hand, and he was being pulled back by Alaric, who was preventing him from doing what needed to be done.

"Let me go!" Helia screamed. "Let me go. Let me die and be with her! Let me be with her!"

Alaric spun Helia around to face him, grabbed the young man by his shirt, and smacked him hard across the face, as if the brutal pain would knock senses into him. "Julio, listen me-"

"No, you listen," Helia thrust his finger at Alaric's chest, his face soaked and sorrowful with tears while his eyes were grieve with intense, pained sadness and crazed anger. "The most important in my life is gone. She's gone forever! And if I have to die to be with her, than so be it! Even if I have to thrust a dagger into my heart in order to see her face again, I don't care!"

Alaric shook his head, lifted up his head to look at the dagger lying on the ground, and returned his gaze back to Helia, smiling a bit. "You can't kill yourself if you don't have a dagger to thrust into your heart."

Before Helia could even grasp what Alaric was saying, Alaric fired a energy blast from the palm of his hand he aimed at the dagger and destroyed into bits, with parts of tiny metal bits flying everywhere around the place. That one act caused Helia's anger to reach the boiling point and exploded madly like a volcano, his infuriating rage sprouting out like molten lava. He jumped on Alaric before he could turn back his head, knocked him onto the ground, and took a few punches to his face, only to get to pulled off and back by his friends.

"_I HATE YOU!_" He exploded, wanting nothing more but to be given the chance to rip Alaric's eyeballs out from his sockets and make him pay for everything he has done.

"What else is new?" Alaric muttered to himself, shaking his head at Helia's outburst as he got up from ground, dusting off his clothes.

"YOU RUIN EVEYTHING! Anything that has been good in my life has been taken away because of you. It's because of you Flora is dead, and it's because of you I can't die along with her."

Alaric walked up to Helia after his friends released, smacking the pacifist across the face again in hopes it would do the trick to smack some common sense into him. Helia looked like he was ready to jump on him again, but before he had the chance Alaric stopped his actions by the intense, somber glare he was giving him. "Look at yourself. Throwing a tantrum like a child and wanting death so badly you were desperate to do it to yourself. Do you really think this is how Flora wished for things to be like when she made her sacrifice?"

The fury in Helia's eyes slowly cooled down, bit by bit. But Alaric wasn't done speaking yet.

"Flora's in heaven, with God now. And I know her well enough; I know she would want you to live."

Helia said nothing more, but went back to Flora and held her dead body tightly in her arms again.

Morgana, Nebula, and Icicanda went over to the group and paid their respects to the brave nature fairy. Morgana placed her hand on Roxy, who was crying as well, looked at the sorrowful expressions on all their faces and the tears being shed for their fallen friend, and smiled gently although she was experiencing sadness as well.

"Your friend was great and also very brave." She said.

"I agree," Icicanda nodded. "For her bravery, everyone has a chance at life again and the poor souls who have been trapped inside the Midnight Raven all these years finally found their peace."

"She killed herself to finally put an end to the nightmare Libitina started and caused," Nebula said. "By using the good magic of her bright heart, she was able to purify the ancient evil and heal everything the dark power has touched. And for that, we will be forever grateful to her."

"As are we!"

Pure, blindingly bright white light flooded behind them and it hurt so much for them to look back, to meet the owner of the voice. The fairies and heroes found themselves staring into the faces of the original Winx and RF gang.

Luna, Chelsea, Melody, Titania, Lauren, Skyler, Brad, River, Timothy, and Simba looked better than ever before. No longer weakened and tired, now strengthened with energy, had their powers generated to their fullest. Luna, who was badly affected, was standing on her own two feet, her aqua eyes bright with power and strength.

"I speak for not only us, but for all the souls damned to that hellish prison for centuries, we thank you." Luna smiled.

"We will truly be in your depth," Simba said. "We never thought we ever have the chance of seeing light again."

"Now I truly understand," Titania said. "The reason why the power didn't die was because Libitina herself didn't truly die. Because she was going to be reincarnated again, that helped the power continue to live. But thanks to the brave sacrifice your friend made, the power died along with her and we were freed at long last."

"I only wished we could have been saved another way. A way that didn't involve someone needed be killed." Melody said sadly.

Wiping tears from her face, Stella walked over to Chelsea, grabbed her grand great-grandmother's hands, and begged "Please, Chelsea. You have to help us save Flora."

The small smile on the moon fairy's face was wiped off in an instant, replaced with a sheepish expression. "Sugar, I don't-"

"Please!"

"Interfering with fate could have a very bad affect. There's no telling what can happen." Timothy said.

"You know changing fate for your own personal gain-" River began to say, but then got caught off by Helia, who gently laid Flora on the ground and went over to his old friend.

Helia was face-to-face with River, pressing his sharp finger against his chest. "It wouldn't be for our own personal gain. It would be for her," He pointed at Flora. "She didn't deserve any of this and didn't deserve to die either."

The former Winx girls and RF boys thought it also wasn't fair what happened to such a sweet girl, but knew it was just the way life was. Often times the good ones always have to die to save someone else. They were about to open their mouths to protest, but were silenced by Luna, who raised her hand up, taking up the authority of the leader.

"They do have a point," she said, and then turned to Bloom. "There is a spell we know that can bring back her back, but-"

"There's a huge chance she might not be the one you seek," Lauren said. "Remember she and Libitina are two halves who share the same soul, so there's a huge chance if we call to one of the halves of the soul she might not be the one."

"A fifty-fifty chance." Titania said.

"We still have to try," Bloom insisted. "This is Flora's life, we're talking about."

Luna locked eyes with Bloom for the longest time, turned back to her friends who looked reluctantly but slowly nodded their heads, nodded herself, and then turned back to Bloom. "Alright."

"We will need you to do something for us while we try summoning her spirit," Titania instructed. "Focus all your concentration on Flora. Think about all the good times and memories you had with you. That will help the right soul return to her body."

"But how will we know it's the right soul?" Helia asked.

"We will only know when the soul has entered the body and it begins to move." Timothy said.

Not exactly comfortable with the chances but willing to try anything to help Flora, everyone stood back except for Luna and her friends who circled around Flora's body, exchanged looks with one another, and nodded. One by one, they each closed their eyes, lifted their hands up high by their sides with their finger tips close to touching one another, and slowly their bodies were glowing a bright ice bluish-white, brightly glowing like the heart of ice from the inside and out, glowing so bright they all had to shield their eyes from sight.

While their bodies with glowing bright with their life forces, they were humming softly under their breath. The song they were humming seemed soft yet was loud enough for them to hear them, so pure and beautiful, like Musa's siren song, they feel like shouldn't be hearing it in the first place. It was so beautiful their ears couldn't focus on anything else but the humming, but was also so pure the sound was also horrifying.

Slowly, Luna and her friends, still humming their song and forming their chain, opened their eyes. Their eyes, instead of looking like normal eyes, were bright white like the stars in the sky, the beams spilling from their sockets and onto Flora's heart and causing her entire body to also glow bright white.

_Now is the time to focus your concentration_, Luna sent the telepathic messages to their heads while they were humming. _Think about your friend and help us call upon her soul, so she may be able to return to her body._

"It's our turn now." Alaric said.

The gang closed their eyes and held each other's hands, mustering all the thoughts they had about Flora. Bloom thought about the first time she met Flora in their dorms, thinking how a girl who makes plants talk could be a bit strange but also sweet and caring. Stella thought about the look of horror on Flora's face when she dragged the girls to her closet, helping her pick out the perfect outfit for her date and remembering how Flora got lost in Bikini land. Musa then thought about all the times Flora would help her with a new song she couldn't figure out the right lyrics to and how she was always the first person she would talk to when things would go wrong with her. Tecna thought about how she and Flora were so different from one another, with Tecna coming from the technology realm and Flora came from the nature realm, but somehow they became the best of friends. Layla thought about all the times she given advice to the insecure girl when she was nervous about telling her true feelings about Helia and all the fun they had together.

All the boys, with the exception of Helia and Alaric, shared the same, similar thought: a girl who would get a bit too wrapped up in her plants and nature, but was always sweet and caring, the exact person they always thought as a little sister to them.

Helia thought about the first time he met Flora when she was a sophomore while he was a art-transfer student at the Red Fountain event, the time he saw Flora walking into the forest where he was mediating with that thoughtful look on her face and her hands full of books and a letter, the time he helped give her the assurance she needed to save the Flower of Life in pixie village, when she finally told them the words he wanted to hear for so long-_she_ _liked_ _him_-as he was about to leave and he confessed his feelings to her, and when they finally shared their first kiss at Shadow Haunt. So many good, wonderful times they had together, and there were still so many things in life they haven't been able to do yet.

Alaric had so many thoughts in his head as he thought about Flora. The first time he saw again, walking into the train station with that dazzling smile on her face, his breath was immediately taken away when he saw the remarkable between her and Libitina. How, because of their identical looks and she was her reincarnation, he was so sure she was going to be the exact same girl she once was before. And how badly wrong he was proven. Even when she was given the choice of getting the ultimate power, she turned it away for the sake of her friends. She actually turned down the powerful power she badly wanted in her past life.

She proven she was much more than a reincarnation. She was more than that, much more.

The more they concentrated on their thoughts, the stronger their summoning became and the brighter the white light would burn.

Bright light from the sky shined down on Flora, aiming right at her heart. Slowly, they opened their eyes a bit and saw a life-force, energy soul descending from the sky and slowly entering the body.

"The soul has returns to the body." Luna said.

"But which soul is it?" Stella asked.

"I don't know." She answered softly yet sadly.

Helia took that as his cue to break way from his friends and ran over to Flora, having to leap high over his old friends who were still kept their circle together, so he could get close to her but still kept distance between them. His breath was caught in his throat as he saw the girl, whoever she may be, was slowly opening her eyes, which were glancing around her surrounding, still motionless. She slowly brought one hand close to her face and stared at it for a full minute, before brushing it against her cheek. She then lifted her upper body and turned to the left, her eyes quickly meeting his before moving on around the room but then came back to his gaze and stared deeply into him for awhile.

"Flora?" He said in a murmur when he was able to find his voice.

"Helia?" she asked.

Flora slowly, with some difficulty, got herself up and took small, baby steps toward him, cupping his face in her hands and slowly caressing his cheeks while gazing deeply into his eyes.

"Are you really her?" he murmured. "Are you really my Flora?"

Slowly a smile spread across her face, a kind and sweet smile with no hint of evil or coldness. A kind smile of someone caring and nice, sweet and gentle, and always true to herself.

"It is you." He smiled, and then pulled her into a sweet embrace, holding her firmly in his arms and two of them crying tears of joy together.

"Flora!" Bloom said, as she and the rest of her friends ran over to her, turning the hug into a big group once while everyone else was smiling at the sweet moment.

Slowly Flora pulled back from the group hug she was sharing with her friends and walked into the open arms of her deceased friends, hugging them tightly as well. When she pulled back, tears were running down her cheeks as she looked at Luna's smiling, tearful face. "Thank you. All of you."

"No, Flora," Luna shook her head, her smile still dazzling on her face. "Thank you."

"The prophecy has passed and is finished for good," Skyler said. "The wrath of the angel of darkness is over for good."

"But how?" Flora said.

Slowly a smile, small but still warm, brightened up River's somber face. "By doing something completely selfless for the good of all. True sacrifice, for not only the universe, but for friends as well."

The Winx girls joined into another, big group hug.

"Now it's finally time for us to go," Timothy said. "After all, we waited for this moment for more than right hundred years."

"But what will happen to me?" Flora asked.

"As far as we are concerned, this is your last life," Simba smiled. "Live it well."

"What about Libitina?" Helia asked. "Is she….?" As his eyes looked at Flora's direction, she felt her heartbeat, wondering if Libitina was still living inside of her.

"No," Melody said with a smile. "Libitina is at a place she deserved to be at this entire time. At hell, where she belongs and is getting her punishment."

Chelsea came over and hugged Flora tightly in her arms, pulling her back and smiling as she placed her hands on Flora's shoulders. "Thank you, sugar. Thank you for everything you done," She then turned back to her husband, running into his arms. "Isn't this marvelous, Skyler? We get to see our children again."

"Our children?" Stella and Sky said in unison, staring in stunned disbelief as Skyler and Chelsea were getting cozy in their embrace while Luna and Brad were smiling at it. And their mouths dropped wide open, nearly touching the ground, as Chelsea pulled back and smiled at Skyler, who then pulled her back into him and placed a long, deep kiss on her lips.

"OH MY GOD!" Stella exclaimed, causing the couple to pull away from their kiss, and having the attention spotlight shined down on her. She then fainted into Brandon's arms and Bloom was fanning her and trying to snap her back into consciousness, and Sky was staring with his mouth dropped.

"Husband? Wife? Children?" Sky said.

"When did this happen?" Stella demanded while everyone else was trying hard not to laugh, knowing perfectly well they were going to be scorned by the sun and moon princess sooner or later if she catches them.

Skyler and Chelsea smiled at each other, with Skyler's arms wrapped firmly around Chelsea's waist, bringing her close to him, and Chelsea nuzzling her head onto his shoulder, looking so much more like a happy couple. They looked at each other knowingly, quickly, as everyone else has, figured out they didn't know fully on their family history.

"You see, Chelsea and I practically grew up together," Skyler explained. "We became very good friends at the young, tender age of three, and our fathers arranged our marriage when we were both five years old."

"The marriage between the prince of Erakylon and the princess of Solaria was originally planned to bring alliance between the two kingdoms. But because we were already good friends, our parents thought the marriage would be perfect. Although the idea of being married seemed odd at the time, we still happily accepted," Chelsea continued.

"We were engaged when I was fifteen and she was fourteen, and then had our wedding the summer before junior year."

"We had children of course," There was a proud yet very sad gleam in Chelsea's moon-like eyes as she thought about her beautiful children she never had the chance of being with them and watching them grow up. "Twins, a beautiful baby girl and a handsome little boy. The night I given birth to them was two nights before we had to go out to battle to face Libitina, but we couldn't risk Libitina finding our babies because there was no telling what she would do them. So, I entrusted the safety of my little ones to the one person I trusted more than anyone else. Nathalie."

"So, that could make your kids had kids, their kids have kids, and so on," Sky asked, shock increasing in his eyes as they both nodded. "So that we're…" Sky flipped his finger between him and Stella, who was frozen like a statue and her left eye was twitching. "Cousins?"

"Pretty much." They nodded.

Riven burst out into laughter, laughing so hard tears were running down his cheeks and he wrapped his arms around himself. "Well, I certainly see a family resemblance."

"_SHUT UP, RIVEN!_" They exclaimed.

While Sky and Stella were shocked and freaking out, everyone else was having themselves a really good laugh. As good and funny as the moment was, as much as it was good to have themselves a good laugh, they felt it was time to say goodbye.

Waving goodbye to their future descendants and thanking them for everything they have done, Julio's old friends changed their bodies into soul forms and their souls wander up into the sky, disappearing into Heaven.

**2 months later**

After the whole Libitina adventure, the rest of senior year for the girls was ordinary but they wouldn't want it any other way.

The universe was rid free of the Midnight Raven forever, being purified by the heart of one power fairy, who changed the ancient evil into the Dove of Light. A power created not only from the pure goodness in her heart, but the goodness of the hearts of other magical beings and heaven above, strengthening by the powers and energies of those who serve good and powers of all those who help defeat evil. The Dove of Light was, second to the second Dragon-fire, a very powerful energy source that can never be tampered with by the forces of evil.

After the disaster with Libitina, everyone was a minion to the dark queen was destroyed by the pure power of the energy waves Flora unleashed as she killed herself, corrupting her castle and kingdom into ruins, and the Trix Witches found themselves extremely low on power and back to square one.

The gang had the great privilege watching the Trix witches get hand-cuffed by guards from Light Rock, which was soon rebuilt and better than ever before with extra sweetness and peaceful tranquility, which was more than enough to make the witches feel like puking, and were escorted back to the positive rehabilitation realm by their guards, through a transportation portal.

Before Icy went through the portal, she turned back at the pixies and coldly glared at a specific fairy. It was the same narrowed into slits, hatred-filled, revenge-seeking eyes that glared at Bloom when the fire fairy gotten back her power and ruined everything. Only this time, the glare wasn't reversed for the smirking redhead waving at the ice witch.

She aimed her cold, narrowed eyes at Flora, who managed to look innocent even with the smug smile on her face as she waved goodbye. "One way or another, I'll be breaking out from Light Rock. And when I do, pixie, your ass is _mine_."

Soon after the witches were gone, Alaric was as well. He said as much fun and amusing as it was living above ground, he missed his home in Hell, his siblings, and the evil master who was a father to him. The gang and the former villain were civil to each when it was time to say goodbye, actually shaking hands with small smirks on their faces, actually being genuine as they wished one another good luck.

When it was Flora's turn to say goodbye to the man she once hated with a fierce passion in her heart, she actually surprised everyone by wrapping her arms around him and holding him tightly in a fierce hug. "Thank you, Alaric. For everything."

Alaric, still stunned by the unexpected hug, ran his hand through her silk hair and hugged her tight. It was all too clear how strong his feelings were for this girl, too clear that everyone including Flora could easily see by looking into his eyes. But instead of wanting it so badly and going after it like he did with Rosalina, he wasn't going to do anything about it this time because Flora was that special to him.

She deserved someone who was worth her time and love, someone like Julio. Alaric loved her too much, was aware of all the pain he brought in her life, and cared about her too much to do anything about it. He loved her too much to be selfish with her, so he let go and let Flora have Helia.

He whispered all of that in Flora's ear, actually feeling a stinging, watery sensation tingling his eyes, and soon tears were filling Flora's eyes. Flora then quickly pecked his cheek, broke the embrace and went back to Helia, waving to Alaric as he opened a portal that would take him back home.

"The right girl for you, Alaric, is somewhere out there. I know she is." Flora whispered.

To that, Alaric shrugged but did it with a smile. "Maybe she. Who knows?"

And with that being said, Alaric stepped into the portal, which then closed behind him and disappeared before an eye could blink, making that the last time they ever saw him again.

Then she was shoved into the portal, and that was the last the girls ever saw or heard from the witches again.

Flora was known throughout the realm as the brave girl who risked her life and did a huge sacrifice, making her an official hero and inspiration to all. Her friends were also known as heroes, too, for their bravery and everything they done in order to bring down the evil queen.

Everyone was so grateful to Flora and her friends for everything they had done to save the universe, all the realms contributed more than enough money to rebuilt Alfea. Soon the fairy high school was back and the girls were back at school.

Early spring became late spring, slowly creeping into the summertime, hard test and final exams were taken and thankfully passed with flying colors (including Stella's, which was a real eye-raiser for the teachers), and the senior class-including the Winx girls themselves-were finally initiated into Guardian fairies.

That night, one cool May evening, was the girls' senior prom and Stella, naturally of course, made sure they were the belles of the ball and looked fabulously fantastic for the evening.

The moment the girls, linked arm through arm, stepped into the ball room, where prom was being held at and was perfectly redone into prom heaven perfection, eyes were widened and mouths literally dropped to the ground by the sight of them.

Including their boyfriends who had their eyes nearly popping out from their sockets and were nearly howling like wolves meeting their mate.

Not that the girls didn't how hot and good they looked, because they knew how great they looked tonight. Stella had exclusive hairdressers made the girls' hair and makeup looked perfection, and hired her royal tailor to make their dresses.

Bloom was dressed in a beautiful, bright aqua ball gown that really brought out her eyes with ruffle front and black lace trimming detail, wore silk pale blue elbow-length gloves, and matching blue high-heeled pumps. Her fiery orange-red hair was tied into a bun piled on top of her head with one loose lock curled up by the left side of her face.

Stella looked like an absolute angel dressed in a curve-hugging, spaghetti-strapped, ruffle front mini dress splashed with sliver and gold sparkles and wore gold strappy heels that went perfectly with her dress. Her golden hair was styled in a cowl hairstyle, was given extra volume and extra shine with her blonde locks shimmering under the lights, and was flowing down her back.

Tecna's hair was styled the same, but was given a nice trim and volume. She looked radiant in her strapless, midnight dress with a sly, sleek slit reaching her thigh on her left side, was wearing lacey and flirty fishnet panty-hose, and black suede high-heeled pumps.

Musa really knocked down the crowd with her gorgeous ruby red, halter-neck mini dress with beautiful rhinestone beading around the front and neckline, a gorgeous flowing skirt and matching laced-up to the knee strappy hells. Her enchanted, midnight blackish-blue hair was let down and also pulled back, with her bangs sweeping across the right side.

Layla was radiant like a true princess in a chocolate brown, silk and shimmering dress with beautiful beading detail and sparkling spaghetti-straps, with the dress hugging her every curve and showing off her figure. She paired the dress with beautiful, bedazzled strappy heels, and her wavy hair was still wavy but was also given a relaxed style that made her look more sophisticated and beautiful.

And last, but certainly not least, Flora. She looked like an absolute rose in her strapless rose pink, triple-layer ruffle dress she paired with a matching silk wrap she wrapped around her shoulders and wore matching silver strappy heels. Her caramel hair was tied into two buns piled onto of her head while her bangs were hanging loose, and added a pink rose to her hair to complete the look.

"You girls look beautiful." Sky told them as he and his friends bowed down to their girlfriends, and he kissed Bloom's hand.

"We know." They said, smiling knowingly.

The rest of the semester was great with friendships and love relationships growing stronger than ever. The gang was sad that soon graduation was around the corner, summer was close to coming, and soon they would go back home and go their separate ways but assured their sadness by reminding themselves how great their friendship was and how they'll stay friends forever.

Prom was like the ultimate dream the girls dreamt about when they were little and was ten times better than they could hope it to be. The senior girls looked amazing in their dresses and the boys looked good, too (even though they were in their Red Fountain uniform, which was a requirement), the food and drinks being served by waiters in white jackets walking through the crowd and offering them a snack or drink were delicious, the music selection had the most amazing songs (thanks to Musa, who made the playlist), and so many pictures were taken for yearbook as memories for this night.

"Attention!" Griselda silenced the crowd with a stern look and clapped her hands extra loud to grab the attention of the students. "Silence, so that our headmistress will make her speech."

Waiting a few moments for them to settle themselves and when she was sure she had their full attention, Ms. Faragonda stepped forward with a beaming Nathalie by her side, a smile brightening her face as she looked at her seniors. "Seniors, I'm proud to say this has been the best year by far. Each of you is special and unique in your own way, and it was a great privilege to me and all the teachers going through the magical experience and journey with you."

The students gave themselves a hand, applauding loudly and cheering.

"I would thank a very special girl whose bravery is the reason we are all still standing and are alive today. Miss Flora."

The applause for Flora was _thunderous_, a hundred times louder than the applause before with everyone-especially her proud, beaming friends-going crazy with the clapping, cheering, and applause. Which caused Flora to turn her head away, trying to hide the bright red blush creeping onto her face and making her look like a tomato, as she smiled shyly at the applause.

Ms. Faragonda grabbed a glass of champagne and raised it high. "To the students of 2010. May the power of good and everything we taught you here at Alfea help you as you face adulthood."

"To the students of 2010!" Everyone raised their glass.

Bloom smiled as she turned to her friends and raised her glass to them. "To us!"

"To the Winx Club!" Layla said.

"To the greatest friends a person could ever hope to have." Flora smiled.

"To the most awesome fairies." Musa said.

"Don't forget about us. The most awesome, newly-initiated heroes." Brandon was quick to put in and making everyone laugh.

"To us for being oh, so fabulous." Stella said.

"To us!" They clanked their glasses together and gulped down their drinks.

They danced through every song booming from the speakers, dancing with their fates and sometimes switching partners and dancing with a friend, but were having tons of fun.

It was during the last dance of the evening Helia lost sight of Flora through the sea of people, unable to find her anywhere. Her friends didn't seem to know where she was either, so he asked her pixie, Chatta, who gladly led Helia out of the ballroom and out side, into the woods where Flora was.

She was at the spot they always met at, sitting at his famous high rock with her knees up to her chin and her arms wrapped around them, looking up at the full moon looking down at her. His heart nearly stopped as he slowly approached, almost cowering away. She looked so beautiful with her hair shimmering in the moonlight, her breathless emerald eyes sparkling with that priceless twinkle in the stars; he was, once again, spellbound by her and her beauty.

Flora slowly peeled her eyes away from the moon and turned her head, as if she could sense his presence behind her and smiled at Helia, who slowly smiled back and bowed low to her. "Having fun at the dance?"

"The best," He smiled. "Although I would have much more fun if my date were enjoying the good time with me."

"I just needed to get away for awhile and take in some air." Flora sighed, and then made some room for Helia on the rock as he took a seat besides her on the rock.

"You're quite popular these days," Helia said. "They call you a hero and they're right because you are. What you did, Flora, was completely…brave."

"Might have been brave, but you guys it was a completely stupid act that gave you a heart attack," Flora joked, making the two of them laugh. Soon, a moment passed by and a serious expression crossed her face as she thought about the moment she thrust that dagger into her chest, how pain burst like a explosion inside her body but soon became distant, and how the world closed in on her. She shook her head, to rid herself from the memory and felt Helia's gaze watching her every move. "Do you want to know why I did why I did? Why I killed myself?"

"It was because you felt guilty," Feeling tears already form in her eyes as she nodded her head, and Helia held her hand tightly in his and continued with his guessing. "Because of everything Rosalina' selfishness done in the past and with you being her reincarnation, you felt it was your entire fault. You felt horrible about everything she done and then felt even worse because you were apparently born to help her continued with her wickedness and evil. You took your life to make up for all the suffering Libitina caused and to stop her from causing more pain."

Tears were silently rolling down her cheeks, ruining her eye makeup and causing her black mascara to run down in black streaks. Helia cupped her face in his hands, kissed her cheeks and kissed the tears off her face, and wiped the rest of the tears with his finger. "Do you know what happened after you were gone?"

Flora shook her head, fresh tears still dripping down her face, and he continued, "The world around seemed like it was scattered into millions of pieces. I knew I couldn't live without you, so I came close to using the dagger to thrust the knife into my chest."

Flora pulled away from him, staring at him dumbstruck with disbelieving eyes. "You were going to kill yourself?"

"I would have to," Helia nodded. "If Alaric didn't stop me and destroyed the cursed thing."

"Why would you do such a thing?" Flora demanded, horrified by the thought of Helia killing himself. "You have your whole life set ahead of you. Why would you take your own life?"

"The same reason why you took yours," Helia answered. "Because you cared and loved about me, our friends, and your family that you took your own life. I would take mine in an instant if it meant seeing you again, Flora."

"I'm not worth it!" Flora exclaimed. "I'm just me, nothing more or nothing special. I'm not worth you throwing away the rest of your life for."

Helia only accepted her protests with a smile, combing her hair with his fingers and bringing his fingers down to slowly caress her cheek. "Flora, you _are_ my life and my one, true love. Without you living and breathing in this world, there is not life for me. It's simple and easy as that."

He said the last words so slowly with a sweet, soothing tone causing her slowly close her eyes and melt by the sweet sound of them. She could smell the cool breath hanging of his breath, and when she opened her eyes she nearly jumped with how close they were to each other. So close, their lips were only a kiss away from touching one another.

Helia saw the look in her eyes, the warmth burning with desire as she gazed at him, and finally given her what she wanted. His cool mouth came down on hers, a fiery warp of electrified sparks running between them like a current.

Flora threw her head back and moaned as Helia's lips moved down, kissing from her jaw line to her neck, and down to her shoulder blades while undoing the hair clips tying her hair and setting it free.

He slowly pulled away from the kiss when a reminder about what he wanted to do came flooding to his head. He took Flora by the hand, got down on one knee, and smiled at the shock in Flora's eyes as he reached inside his pocket to retrieve a small jewelry box.

"Flora, no words can describe best how much you mean to me, how much I care and adore you, and how deep my love for is. I love you more than words can describe and want nothing more than for you to be by my side forever. So, will you make me the happiest man alive by becoming my wife?"

Flora held her breath as he opened the box, revealing the same beautiful ring he given her as a birthday gift and was the same ring he used to propose to her in her past life.

"Will you marry me, Flora?" Helia asked.

"Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!" Flora cried tears of joy as Helia slipped the ring onto her finger, pulled Helia's head toward hers, and connected their lips in a passionate kiss. Without breaking the passionate lock of their lips, Helia wrapped his arms around her and they sank back on the rock with Flora lying flat on it while he was lying on her.

Soon passionate kisses between into intense ones, fired with a fierce hunger, and slowly pieces of clothing were shed off one another's body till she was in her strapless bra and panties while he was in his boxer.

The passion was overwhelming, as if a short circuit between wires was sending sparks flying all throughout the forest, with the moment quickly steaming up. Flora felt she was in heaven, with Helia over her, his hands handling her body delicately like she was made from glass, kissing her gently yet urgently with those addicting lips of his she couldn't get enough of and his tongue searching hungrily for hers. She was melting like chocolate by his touch, her body going through thrilling sensations she only read about in romance novels and seen in moves but somehow the feeling was ten times better. She was drowning in the taste of his mouth and the intensity of his touch. There was an uncontrollable hunger flowing from his body to hers. It seemed the more they kissed and clung onto one another, the greater the hunger became till it was too much to bear.

It was as if they couldn't get close enough to each other, even though they were already as close as they were ever going to get but felt that wasn't close enough.

Helia slowly unattached their lips from one another, but still didn't move away from Flora. "Are you are? Because I don't mind waiting. You're worth the wait."

Slowly nodding with a sure smile on her face, Flora murmured "I've never been surer of anything else in my life. Take me away, Helia."

Helia leaned in again and kissed her, gently at first, as if he were afraid she would break like she really was glass. Flora pulled him closer to her, letting him know she wanted this as much as he did. Helia moved his lips gently down her face, kissing her neck and shoulders gently, slowly unhooking the hooks of her front-clasp bra, going lower and lower. Flora was moaning his soft touch, overcome with anxiousness but excitement and joy that overcame the anxious. She loved Helia the moment they locked eyes in sophomore year, and now they were giving themselves wholly to one another.

She pulled his face back and brought him into an earth-scattering kiss, pouring all the love and longing he felt for her and letting him know her heart only belonged to him.

Now and forever.

Later on that evening, way past midnight and almost morning, the two lovers were still lying on their high-rock, their sweating and bare bodies covered with a soft blanket Flora created with a spell.

Helia was fast asleep, looking peaceful and snoring softly as he slept like a baby. Flora, on the other hand, was still awake and still feeling indescribable blissful by what just happened.

Making love was something she never once thought she would be ready for or how her first time would be like, but now she can look back and say it was the most magical experience in her life. There was some pain in the beginning, but the pain became pleasurable after awhile. Helia was so loving and gentle with her, kissing the pain away every time she would wince, making the experience so indescribable for her to put into words.

Flora grabbed Helia's hand and kissed it, before laying it on her chest and gazing up at the moon.

The things that have happened to her really opened to her eyes and taught her a few things. How people can easily let their emotions get the best of them, how easy power can change someone who seemed so nice and innocent, the mysteries of the past and the odd way how history and fate work together, and how past shouldn't interfere with the here and now moment.

Flora wasn't exactly sure what the future held for her, but was glad to say she didn't have to worry about going through it alone. With her sister-like best friends by her side, the support of her family, and the love of the man she loved she was ready fro anything life could throw at her.

**A/n: tHANK YOU for the sweet review, everyone who liked my story and favorited it, and think I'm good writer. You guys rocked and I hoped you liked the ending. **

**Peace out ;)**


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